


Desiderium

by Artistic_FloofHead



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Akechi Goro Redemption, Akira Kurusu needs a hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon divergence starts at 2/2 btw, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, No beta we die like goro akechi, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24699808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artistic_FloofHead/pseuds/Artistic_FloofHead
Summary: Desiderium–An ardent desire or longing; especially: a feeling of loss or grief for something lost.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 23
Kudos: 273





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is basically the obligatory 2/2 fic and the setup for everything else. Please leave comments down below! Constructive criticism is appreciated as always.

Akira Kurusu wasn't the same after what had gone down in the boiler room. It felt like he was on autopilot most of the time, only half-listening to any conversations he had, not saying anything unless asked a question. When he did speak, he kept his answers short, unlike other times where he would joke around a bit. His teammates simply passed it off as fatigue. They were going through a whole lot after all. He couldn't even sleep properly at night. But how could he? There was just too much going on all at once. Several questions, but not enough answers. 

At times like these, he would relieve the stress by going to the Thieves' Den. The Thieves' Den, according to José's explanation and his understanding, was best described as something between the Velvet Room and a Palace. He could access it easily at any time he wanted, and he used the space as a way to escape reality, if only for a little bit. It was a large room that somewhat resembled a movie theater lobby, with important memories of his confidants as the available movies. Gifts, rewards, and past calling cards were also plastered on the walls, along with movie posters representing all the palaces they've infiltrated. In the center were statues of former Palace rulers, statues of various cognitions from said palaces, and displays of a few Personas. Most importantly, there were cognitions of all his confidants walking around, sometimes stopping to comment on the various things in the room, as if they were really there. They were all extremely faithful to their real life counterparts, possibly a sign of how well he knew them. He could even play a round of tycoon with them, and it felt almost like the real thing, all the way down to Ryuji moping over his losses, Morgana being overconfident as usual, and Akechi being the one person who always plays mercilessly despite agreeing to play casually. 

_His thoughts have been circulating around Akechi a lot recently..._

Akira knew far too well that he would have to face Akechi at some point. He knew far too well Akechi wasn't being completely honest about himself. He knew far too well that he was planning to betray the Phantom Thieves. Planning to betray _him_ by plotting to put a bullet in his head.

And yet... despite all that, he got close to him. Hung out with him whenever he had the free time to. What had started as a plan to keep an eye on him ended becoming something far more complicated. In fact, Akechi was the one person who he prioritized time with. The one person where he felt completely at ease with despite his ulterior motives.

 _How could someone like Akechi be a bad person?_ He would wonder foolishly before dismissing the thought entirely. Akira, out of all people, would know all about masking one's true personality with a carefully crafted facade. The Goro Akechi the public saw was a near-flawless individual, an incredibly handsome teen idol, a child genius, the so-called Second Coming of The Detective Prince after the original Naoto Shirogane.

But that wasn't the Goro Akechi Akira knew.

The Goro Akechi he knew didn't really care for his outside appearances. He stated himself that all of it was a ploy to get close to Shido, plain and simple. In reality, he was never the "prim and proper" Detective Prince everyone thought he was. All of that was part of his public persona, another layer of his personality made to mask his true feelings and intentions. Once Akira got to know him better, the act started to slip away. Akechi would later on noticeably be more brutally honest with him, before slipping back to his Detective Prince persona once someone else was watching. Akechi was never afraid to share his personal opinion on something with him after their first meeting at the TV station, where Akira had caught the detective's attention after giving an answer that directly opposed his. In fact, Akechi always seemed to be impressed with how attentive and honest Akira could be with him.

...

_"You used your right hand." Akira said once he lost the pool match to Akechi. "Aren't you left handed?"_

_"...Not bad." Akechi said with a smile more genuine than the one he usually uses. "I'm surprised you noticed, Kurusu. I switched hands during our match. Going all-out on a junior is a bit gauche don't you think? It's nothing personal, of course."_

_"If that's the case... No holding back next time." Akira said. The chance of beating the Detective Prince himself at his own game was too good to resist._

_Akechi gave a small chuckle. "In any case, you truly are an interesting person, Kurusu. You never fail to intrigue me._ _"_

_..._

Akira could say the same about him as well. Conversations with Akechi were never boring; on the contrary, they were rather thought-provoking, which Akira enjoyed. Akechi's overly-formal tone combined with his usage of obscure quotes and idioms never failed to amuse Akira. If Akira was being honest, he searched the things Akechi had said before every now and then. Who exactly paraphrases _Hegel_ in casual conversation? Of course, it was expected from someone like Akechi, whose intellect and wit was something that rivaled Akira's own, something he can compete and keep up with. That's when he learned another thing about Akechi: he hated losing, not unlike Akira. 

...

_"I'm going to be completely honest with you: I hate you." Akechi had said, his rather aggressive tone not matching his somewhat tight smile. "Your deft handling of unfortunate circumstances, your uniqueness, your ability to surpass me—all of that irritates me." Akechi gritted his teeth. "You are the one person I refuse to lose to."_

_"Same here." Akira had said in reply. After all, what kind of a rival would he be if he had allowed it? "Must hate losing as well, huh?"_

_"... I didn't even know it was this severe." Akechi said, looking at him incredulously. "You truly are... something else. I'll let you have this win today, but next time I will be victorious. Let this be my proof."_

_Akechi swiftly took his glove off and tossed it to Akira. "It is a tradition in the West to throw one's glove at their opponent when demanding a duel. Should the opponent accept the glove, the duel is also accepted."_

_Akira gave Akechi a wide grin. "I accept."_

_Akechi smiled lightly in return. "Make certain that you'll never forget: **I** am the one who will defeat you."_

_..._

But then, Akira had noticed something else about Akechi. He noticed how he seemed to genuinely enjoy his time with The Phantom Thieves and especially with Akira himself. He noticed how different his smile looked on his TV interviews versus the quiet kind of smile he had when sipping coffee at Leblanc. He noticed how he would laugh much more often around Akira, and that laugh wasn't the hollow one he would normally use. 

_..._

_"You don't actually hate Joker, do you?"_ _Mona had said. Joker could have sworn he saw Akechi's expression falter, ever so slightly._

_..._

_Maybe,_ Akira thought. _Maybe he actually cared._ Maybe Goro Akechi cared about Akira Kurusu the same way he did. Maybe, just maybe, Akechi could have been saved, if only they had met sooner. 

_..._

_"Let's make a deal... You won't say no now...will you?" Akechi said from the other side of the wall. "Please... steal Shido's heart in my stead... End his crimes once and for all!"_

_**This can't be happening... Right? Akechi promised a rematch, didn't he?** Akira thought. He was just so, **so** tired of it all, his mind a jumble of emotions he couldn't hope to sort out at the moment. But the Phantom Thieves had bigger, more important problems to worry about. _

_"I'll hold on to your glove." was the only thing he was able to say, only loud enough for Akechi to hear._

_Akira hears a snort from the other side. "After all this... That's what you have to say?" Akechi said, with more fondness than he's ever heard from him. "Seriously Akira... You really are..."_

_..._

When Shido was taken care of, and the Igor he knew of in the Velvet Room turned out to be nothing but an impostor who had rigged his so-called "rehabilitation" from the start, Akira was furious. None of it was fair. Both him and Akechi, set up like chess pieces, only to fail. To use Lavenza's words, the cards of fate were stacked deeply against them. 

...

_"To decide the fate of the world, the false God chose two people with the potential and pitted them against each other." Lavenza explained. "Goro Akechi, who incited the masses' distortion, and a Trickster who would rise up against this—that person was none other than Akira Kurusu."_

_Hearing Lavenza's explanation only left a sick feeling in his stomach. They really were both doomed from the start. But... It did confirm one other thing Akira wondered about: Akechi having more than one distinct persona. His friends did have a persona other than the one they first awakened to but those were more of an evolution than an entire separate persona. It only meant one thing: Akechi was a Wild Card, just like him. And if that power caused Akira to defy his own death once..._

_He could only hope._

* * *

"There's no need for that." Somebody had said, interrupting his conversation with Sae. 

"A-Akechi?" Akira stuttered in shock. "You're...alive?"

"It appears that way." Akechi said, with a tone of sarcasm only he can pull off. 

Goro Akechi was _alive_. He had somehow miraculously survived Shido's Palace. Relief flooded through Akira's chest. Wait, no, not just relief. Akira was _happy._

"I'll agree to testify against Shido and his crimes." Akechi said to Sae before turning to face him. "I assume that works for you?" 

_Wait, what?_ Akira's mood soured. "You're turning yourself in?" 

His head was starting to hurt from everything that had been happening, first Shido, then Yaldabaoth, now this? _How lucky of him indeed._

Akira could only gape at Akechi as he walked away with Sae. Even with a confession, there was simply no way to prove the Metaverse existed without bringing everyone in there, and that could potentially cause another problem like Shido. Not to mention that proving the existence of the Metaverse would lead the court to ask even more questions. However, it wasn't like he could do anything about it. It was Akechi's choice to turn himself in, anyways. 

Christmas day came, and Akira told the news to the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Most of them thought it was a good thing that Akechi decided to turn himself in and atone for his crimes. They were all trying to enjoy themselves with the potluck, but the mood eventually turned sullen. As much as they tried to ignore it, a lot was still happening at the moment. 

"If only Mona were here to celebrate..." Futaba said with a sigh. 

"I was trying not to bring it up... But yes." Makoto said. 

The sound of the door opening alerted everyone, and they turned around to see Sojiro come back into the café, holding a familiar black cat. 

Akira was just as shocked as everyone else, but nonetheless happy to see him again. According to Morgana, the only part of himself that disappeared was his form in the Metaverse, leaving his cat form in reality. The somber atmosphere from earlier quickly disappeared, and instead was replaced by the cheers and laughter of the group, rejoicing Morgana's return.

"Things are finally back to normal!" Haru said happily, as they watched Futaba aggressively pet Morgana, while the cat was trying to wrestle his way out of her grip. 

"Yeah, I guess they are." Akira said, smiling.

All their hard work finally paid off. 

* * *

This was it. 

One final calling card, and it's all over. 

Akira knew something was up the moment he saw a human Morgana and an _extremely noticeable_ not-dead Wakaba Isshiki and Kunikazu Okumura. It unnerved him a whole lot. Fate really did like toying with him, huh? Just when Akira thought everything was over and done with yet another problem shows up. Only this time, he didn't have the assistance of the Phantom Thieves for the most part. Dr. Maruki wasn't kidding when he said he gained the power to warp reality. All his friends were completely convinced that everything was real and didn't do much until Maruki had turned Sumire's persona berserk. 

Well, all his friends except Akechi. Akira assumed it was a Wild Card thing, but Akechi was the only other person besides Akira aware of all the abrupt changes in the world around him. Together, they made a deal to stop Maruki at all costs. The calling card was already in his pocket, ready to be given. 

No more backing out now. No more what ifs.

...

"This doesn't only affect you Kurusu-kun. Akechi-kun, this involves you too." Maruki had said. 

It felt like the blood in Akira's veins had turned into ice. "What do you mean 'Akechi's involved?'" 

"The relationship you two share is very unusual. Despite supposedly being enemies, your relationship isn't based on hatred or I'll-will. That's why I found it so tragic when I learned what happened in Shido's palace." Maruki shook his head. "Didn't you regret how things ended, Kurusu-kun? You two came to a deep understanding of each other... but you had no choice but to leave Akechi-kun to his fate. That's why I wanted you two to have a fresh start in this new reality."

Akira frowned. A fresh start? 

Wait. 

Everyone else had their wishes granted in this reality, all their subconscious desires actualized. Something to tempt them into staying. If Maruki were to be believed, this offer extends to him as well. Except... he hasn't encountered anything of the sort. 

Unless...

No, it can't be... 

Morgana shuffled a bit beside him, realization dawning upon him as well. "That would mean that the Akechi in the real world is..."

Maruki smiled sadly. "See what I mean?" 

_No, no, no._ This wasn't happening. He refused to believe the Akechi standing right in front of him was just another illusion. No, Maruki _has_ to be lying. He just has to be. Akechi can't be dead. How can a dead person use a persona? And if Akechi was an illusion, why would he be so eager to get rid of this reality? Akechi was simply just too flawed, too _real_ to properly fit in Maruki's idea of a perfect reality. 

Unless... If he really were brought back by Maruki, it would work in the same way it did with Okumura and Wakaba. He would revive them based off someone else's cognition of them. In other words, the Wakaba in the fake reality was based of Futaba's memories of her, and Okumura was based off Haru's wishes of having her father return to the nicer man he was before.

And Akira knew very well that he knew Goro Akechi better than anyone else. All Maruki would have to do is take his cognition of Goro and make it reality, and he wouldn't tell the difference. 

_Fuck._

_No Akira, you're overthinking this too much._

"And that matters how, exactly?" Akechi asked, aggression lacing his words. "Don't think dangling my life before us is going to have any impact on our decision."

"So... You knew?" Akira said, hurt. He knew and didn't tell him? 

"I lacked conclusive evidence. However, after I fought against you all I had a gap in my memory that ended with meeting up with Akira again." Akechi said. "There were also the cases of Wakaba Isshiki and President Okumura... Of course I'd find all of that suspicious."

"I had a feeling the truth of the matter wouldn't dissuade you, Akechi-kun, but what about you?" Maruki turned to face Akira. "I'm still going to ask you, one last time: Will you accept this reality? You were the guiding light to my research. I have nothing but gratitude for you—not a single ounce of ill will. That’s why I wanted you of all people to understand."

But Akira didn't give an answer. He wasn't even sure if he could. 

"...Perhaps I shouldn’t ask you for an answer on the spot like that." Maruki shook his head." I’ll be going now."

"You forgot something." Akira took the calling card out of his breast pocket and tossed it to the councilor. 

"Ah, yes. I've heard your calling." He nodded. "I’ll be waiting in the Palace tomorrow, just as I promised. If you still haven’t changed your mind by then, we’ll meet there… But if you don’t show, I’ll take that to mean you’ve accepted my reality."

With that, Maruki left.

"So..." Morgana said after a moment of silence. "What are you gonna do?" 

Akechi spoke up suddenly. "I'd like to speak with Akira."

Morgana gave him a sad look. "Gotcha. I’ll leave the decision up to you, Akira."

Morgana left after that, giving them a bit of privacy. 

The silence was deafening. His stomach filled with dread. The once-calm atmosphere of Leblanc becoming uneasy. Akira said he'd be prepared for whatever is to come, but nothing could have prepared him for this. 

"…I will carve my own path for myself." Akechi said, breaking the silence. "I refuse to accept a reality concocted by someone else, stuck under their control for the rest of my days."

Akira couldn't bring himself to look him in the eye. "But then, you'll..."

"So what?" Akechi said harshly. "All you have to do is stick to your guns and challenge Maruki. Or are you really so spineless that you’d fold over some bullshit, trivial threat on my life?"

"This is your life we're talking about here, Akechi!" Akira said, trying and failing to maintain his composure. "Don't—" His hands balled up into fists. "Don't oversimplify this."

"Oh, but it IS simple." Akechi continued, tone unwavering. "Do you think I’d be happy with this? Being shown mercy now, of all times? I don’t want to be pitied—this isn’t something I’m debating with you!" He continued to lecture Akira as if his life wasn't on the line. "Your indecisiveness on the matter is essentially a betrayal of my wishes."

It wasn't fair. 

It just wasn't fair. 

It was suddenly becoming hard to breathe. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill any moment now. Akira realized as well how much he was shaking. He can't make this decision. He doesn't _want_ to make this decision. 

"...I want to hear you say it aloud. What do you intend to do?"

Akira knows what he has to do. He knows that it's the _right_ thing to do. But, didn't all his problems start because he did "what was right?"

But who was he kidding? No good deed goes unpunished. There had always been a price to pay. And now, Akira was beginning to think that that price was too high. 

Sure, he had friends, wonderful friends who he had helped throughout the year, and they altogether formed the Phantom Thieves, and Akira couldn't deny that he liked exploring Mementos with them, or simply chilling out at the beach. He can't let them down now, not after all they've gone through. 

But then there was Akechi. 

Akechi was nothing like the rest of the Phantom Thieves.His friendship with Akechi started with nothing more than a simple chat. Unlike all the other friends he's made, hangouts with Akechi were just to have a simple game of either chess or billiards, just to see who can strategies better. Hangouts with Akechi were quiet nights at Jazz Jin, watching Akechi lowkey nerd out at his love for jazz music. Akechi wasn't afraid of giving his honest opinion, even if that opinion was a harsh one. He never asked Akira for help, with his only reason for hanging out with Akira was for the sake of talking to him. 

"I won't wait a moment longer!" Akechi said, interrupting his thoughts. "Answer me."

Take the deal? Or stop Maruki once and for all? 

His throat felt dry and scratchy. The answer should have been clear—in fact, it _was_ clear, and yet Akira still found himself hesitating. 

"Cat got your tongue Joker?" Akechi spat. "For someone who likes to blabber endlessly, you're awfully quiet now."

Except right now, he wasn't Joker. He wasn't the confident Trickster who rebelled against those who wronged him. Right now, he was none other than Akira Kurusu, a second-year student forced to choose whether Goro Akechi, the one person who truly understood him, would live happily in a reality with Akira or die in the real world, where Akira would never see him again. 

He wants to be selfish. He wants Akechi to _live_. 

"We—We're taking the offer." Akira said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Akechi's face was one of utter shock and disappointment. "I beg your pardon...?" 

"I-" Akira's words caught in his throat, his tongue feeling like a lead weight in his mouth. Dark red eyes glared at him. 

_"Your indecisiveness is essentially a betrayal of my wishes."_

"I misspoke." Akira said finally. "We're stopping Maruki."

"All right. I’m relieved to hear it. I will never accept this form of reality." Akechi said. "I’m done being manipulated. Let’s go back… to our true reality. What’s a life worth in a reality that was cooked up just to satisfy someone else? I say none. We have to win this—no matter what." 

As Akechi turned to leave, Akira grabbed his wrist. "Wait! Akechi—"

"I must go now." Akechi said, yanking his arm out of Akira's grip. "No point in wasting any more time."

Akechi left before Akira could say anything else, leaving him to break down into tears in the middle of the café. 

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Akira still couldn't sleep. Morgana had returned at some point and curled up on the foot of his bed. He didn't seem to notice that Akira was still up.

His mind ran amok with thoughts of Goro, going through all the times they spent together, the times where he would endlessly tease Goro over something, to see the subtle way he blushed. The times where he saw Goro's real smile, if only a little bit. It occurred to him that those might be the last times that will ever happen.

Akira choked out another sob into his pillow. 

Maybe, if he had done something different, Goro could still be alive. 

_I just wanted one more chance...please...._

_..._

_The distinct aroma of coffee wafted through the air. Akira looked around. What was he..._

_He looked down. Right. He was working at Leblanc, brewing a cup of coffee as always._

_But for whom?_

_He looked up to see a handsome young man, about his age, smile at him. He had soft, shoulder-length honey-brown locks of hair, androgynous features, and dark red irises the color of finely aged wine. Akira felt a blush creep onto his face. He was...cute._

_A chuckle brought him back to reality. "It would last longer if you took a picture, Akira."_

_Akira's face burned with shame. Instead of brewing Goro's coffee, he ended up staring at him instead._

_"Why would I need a picture—" Akira found himself saying. "if I have the real deal right in front of me?"_

_Goro laughed, but smiled sadly. "If only that were the case."_

_Akira looked at him, confused. "What?"_

_"If only you really did have the living, breathing Goro right in front of you. By tomorrow, he'll be gone for good." He shook his head. "I thought you cared about me, Akira."_

_Akira frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course I care!"_

_Goro took a sip of his coffee. Akira didn't remember when he served it to him. "If you truly did care, why didn't you save me Akira?"_

_"Because...! I couldn't! You were on the other side of the wall and—"_

_"Pathetic, isn't it?" Goro said mockingly. "You are hailed as humanity's savior, and yet you couldn't save the one you wanted most. Am I that worthless to you?"_

_"Stop it!" Akira said, starting to tremble. This can't be real. "You're not the real Goro Akechi!"_

_"You may be right, but I exist because you **know** you couldn't have the real one. Isn't that what you'll be satisfied with in a few months Akira? An empty cognition of me? A mockery of the Goro Akechi you once knew? Just because you failed to keep the real one alive?You were given the choice! He was right there in front of you! But what? You gave it up! All for "the good of humanity". What did humanity do for you to care so much?"_

_"You're wrong!" Akira shouted at him. "He wouldn't have wanted this!"_

_"Really?" Goro looked at him incredulously. "But what about what you want, Akira? Think about it, has anyone ever cared about what **you** wanted? It's laughable, really. In the end, your stupid messiah complex is what brought you your own despair."_

_Akira began crying and mumbling to himself. "No, no, no, no..."_

_Maybe if he closed his eyes long enough, this nightmare would go away._

"Hey, are you alright?" A kind voice asked.

When Akira opened his eyes, he found himself face-to-face with Dr. Maruki.

_What? How—_

Akira looked around. He wasn't in Leblanc anymore. In fact, the area around him looked more like the Thieves' Den than anything.

"I know, you're probably very confused." He said. "But I sensed great grief coming from you. When I arrived, it seemed like you were having a nightmare, so I used a bit of my power to pull you out from it. It seems that forcing you to make a decision is only making you suffer."

"I—" Akira sniffles. He was still crying. "I just didn't want Akechi to disappear again."

"I've told you time and time again Kurusu-kun, I don't want you to suffer, you deserve happiness, just like everyone else." Maruki said sympathetically. "I completely understand. It's like with me and Rumi. However, unlike me and Rumi, you two can live happily in my reality together. Isn't that what you really want?"

"Is it?" Akira asked. "How sure am I that you aren't just making me want to?"

"I gave everyone a choice whether to accept it or not. Your resistance is proof that your thoughts are your own." Maruki stated. "If you willingly choose my reality, then I don't see a problem."

He must be insane. He can't possibly be considering this. And yet, Akira didn't try to leave. 

"But what about Akechi?"

"Ah, so it's Akechi-kun you're concerned about?" Maruki thought for a bit. "From what I've seen, he has his mind set on rejecting this reality. However, if it came from you, it may be possible to convince him otherwise."

Akira's eyes widened. "It's possible?" 

Maruki nodded. "I can lend you a fraction of my power. You are a pretty powerful Persona user yourself, Kurusu-kun. If you believe that you can do it, it will become reality. So, what do you say?" 

Akira hesitated. If he did this... He'd be trapping everyone else in a reality controlled entirely by Maruki. They would be giving up their free will, but then, they would get to be happy for the rest of their lives. No more pain, no more suffering. Everyone would have the happy ending they deserved.

The real Akechi would hate him forever if he did this.

But if he can control reality itself...

He'd rather have Akechi hate him forever than have him dead. 

"It's a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Persona 5 Royal comes out*  
> *Cries because they don't have the money to buy it*  
> *Watches gameplays instead*  
> *Sees the protagonist has a Canon palace*  
> *Sees the extremely gay interactions between the protag and Goro*  
> The fanfics simply write themselves now, don't they?  
> I'll hopefully update weekly :D


	2. Chapter 2

_How long has it been since Goro had a good night's sleep? He couldn't remember honestly. In fact, he didn't remember ever feeling this comfortable. He snuggled into his blankets. He didn't want to get up. Not just yet._

_But then he remembered that it wasn't the best idea to sleep in, so he sat up and rubbed his eyes. The early morning sun peeped through his curtains, giving his room a calm, peaceful atmosphere. Goro looked beside him and squinted. The other half of his bed was unmade and surprisingly empty. He could have sworn he fell asleep beside a mop of messy black hair last night._

_Yawning, Goro got up and went into his bathroom to freshen up. When he got out, there was a certain bespectacled someone holding a tray with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and a steaming cup of coffee._

_"Happy birthday honey." Akira set the tray down and gave him a peck on the lips. "Did you like my surprise?"_

_"This is hardly a surprise Akira." Goro said. "You always cook me breakfast. You didn't have to though."_

_"What are you talking about Goro?" Akira went over and wrapped his arms around him. "Why wouldn't I cook breakfast for my boyfriend? Especially on his birthday?"_

_Goro blushed. "We—We haven't made it official yet though."_

_"I think all the other Thieves know already at this point." Akira chuckled. "Hey, I have another surprise for you though downstairs."_

_"Hm, really?"_

_"Yeah, and you better hurry and get dressed. You usually wake up earlier than this, so they've been waiting a while."_

_"They?" Goro asked._

_"Our friends, who else?" Akira said, before grabbing his arm and leading him downstairs._

_"SURPRISE!" Confetti flew through the air, and he was greeted with the faces of all the Phantom Thieves, including Kasumi. The entire living room was decorated with Featherman-themed banners._

_"Happy Birthday Goro-kun! You're 19 now, right?"_

_"Happy Birthday Goro-senpai! All of us brought you presents!"_

_Goro couldn't believe it. All Akira's friends—no, all their friends— were here in his apartment._

_"You guys... You all did this for me?"_

_"Of course we did!" Futaba said. "Sure, it was all Akira's idea, but I was the one who set up the Featherman banners!"_

_"You actually did a remarkably good job in doing so." Yusuke said. "Despite being asymmetrical, the positioning of these banners are very artistic indeed._

_"Same old Yusuke." Ryuji said. "Anyway, we also brought all kinds of food to celebrate! What's a party without food?"_

_"Hey!" Ann smacked Ryuji playfully. "At least let him open his presents first!"_

_"I agree with Ann." Haru said. "I hope you'll like these presents, Goro-kun!"_

_They all huddled around Goro to watch him open everything they got him. Haru had gotten him a fancy tea set. Makoto bought him the next volume of the manga he was currently reading, Ryuji had gotten him a T-shirt with a pancake pattern on it (He suspected Akira gave him the idea, as it seemed that they were both trying to hold back their laughter). Ann had gotten him several boxes of rather expensive sweets. Yusuke's present shocked him a lot, actually. He had given him a painting, but not just any painting. It was a redraw of the poster of the first season of Featherman._

_"I-I can't possibly accept this!" Goro exclaimed._

_Yusuke just smiled. "Futaba gave me the idea of painting this piece of "fanart". It was outside of my usual style, but it served as a great experience for experimenting."_

_"You better accept it Goro! If not, I'm stealing it because it's not everyday that you can get Yusuke to make fanart! Especially of Featherman!" Futaba said._

_"I honestly didn't know what to get you, so I helped with Futaba-senpai and Akira-senpai's gifts instead!" Kasumi said._

_"No need to call me Senpai!" Futaba pouted. "Anyway, me, Kasumi, and Akira contributed on this present, so you better make good use of it!"_

_She pulled out 3 boxes, two large and one slightly smaller._

_Goro tore away the wrapping paper. Inside the first big box was a brand-new Nintendo Switch. The second big box had a PS4, and the third box contained a collection of games for both of them._

_Akira was practically grinning from ear to ear. "You've wanted a gaming console since forever, and I couldn't decide which one to get you, so I just bought you both of these."_

_"Dude, where the hell did you even get the money for all that?" Ryuji asked in shock._

_But Goro was no longer paying attention. Tears were running down his face. He went to hug Akira tightly, mumbling "thank you" over and over again. He couldn't be happier._

_Akira kissed him on the forehead. "Anything for you."_

_"Eww, Akira, PDA!" Futaba wailed, and everyone laughed._

_As Goro went to put away his new gifts, something caught his eye. A bright blue butterfly fluttered in front of him. It seemed to glow, and it left a light trail of blue dust in it's wake._

**_"Please, if you can hear my voice, that means not all is lost. Please... You have to remember..."_ **

_Goro frowned. Did the butterfly...just talk? And what did it mean by "remember?"_

_" **You have lost sight of the truth."** a voice echoed in his head, sounding eerily like his own, if a bit deeper. _

**_"You vowed to never be controlled again, but look at you now. Do you honestly think this is reality? This isn't who you are. You've never had these friends. This life isn't yours."_**

_This life... Wasn't his? What was his life then?_

**_"You were never meant to have this life."_ **

_Goro gripped his head in pain. He could almost hear the sounds of gunshots, the times where he had to throw up in the toilet for what he's done. Wakaba, Okumura, all targets he eliminated for Shido's sake._

**_"Will you allow your fate to be chosen by others once more?"_ **

_A vision of a boiler room flashed before him. His wounded cognition. The voices of the Phantom Thieves on the other side, trying to get the door open. Joker's voice, reminding him he would hold on to his glove._

_That glove... It was a reminder of... A promise?_

_No, it was reminder of his promise._

_A reminder of **their** promise. _

_"Goro." Akira said, his voice sounding muffled. "Is everything alright?"_

_"You—" Goro shoved him away. "You're not real! None of this is real!"_

_Akira frowned. "Goro, what are you talking about?"_

_"Get away from me." Goro said, backing away._

_"Goro—"_

_"I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME!"  
_

_He heard the concerned voices of the Phantom Thieves, before a loud shatter rang through his ears._

* * *

When Goro opened his eyes again, he was hyperventilating, and he was alone on his old, faded futon in his apartment. Akira and the rest of the Phantom Thieves were nowhere in sight, the apartment as small and dingy as before. He calmed down a tad bit. 

_What the fuck was that?_

Maruki's reality. That was the only logical explanation for—whatever the hell _that_ was. Goro frowned. He didn't want to think about it too much. 

He ran up to his room and checked his phone. The calendar read 2/3. They were supposed to steal his treasure today. And yet, there was not a single notification from any one of the Phantom Thieves. 

He dialed Akira's number. Nothing. He dialed it again. Still nothing. Ten calls later, _still nothing_. They all went to voicemail. 

None of this made sense. They made a deal, didn't they? Akira gave his word that he would not falter, but the only way that Maruki could have overwritten Goro's thoughts was if Akira had accepted the deal. 

Which was impossible, since Goro had been listening the entire conversation with Maruki. He made Akira decide right in front of him, just so he could be absolutely sure that his resolve didn't shatter, because he knew how foolishly sentimental Akira could be. Maruki's last attempt at convincing them using his life as bait was nothing short of revolting. Though Goro already knew he dug his own grave long ago, there wasn't enough evidence to prove he didn't survive. But still, he'd rather die than be a puppet to someone whose idea of a perfect world is absolute control. 

_"Wait! Akechi-" Akira grabbed his arm as he was about to leave._

_Goro made the mistake of turning to look at him. Akira was gripping his arm like a clamp, his eyes shining with tears, his gaze burning into his very soul._

_That look made Goro's chest tighten with an emotion he couldn't describe. He didn't know what would happen if he stayed longer. Akira... was the very reason why he came back. Akira wished for a reality where Goro Akechi lived, and he was still trying to wrap his head around that fact._

_But in the end, none of this mattered, right?_

_Maruki can't change their minds. His threat on Goro's life? Pointless. Empty. He knew what was coming a long time ago._

_The real Goro Akechi died once the door closed on that ship._

_"I must go now." Akechi said, yanking his arm out of Akira's grip. "No point in wasting any more time."_

_He couldn't afford to change his mind. Not when they were so close to freedom._

_He swiftly left Leblanc, not looking back once._

Akira couldn't have possibly done it, could he? He can't possibly be that spineless. If he truly respected Goro as much as he said he did, he wouldn't go directly against his wishes. 

Goro shook his head and stood up. No use in pondering it over and over without actually _doing_ something. 

Before he could do anything else, the blue butterfly from his dream appeared in front of him, hovering in place before fluttering downstairs. Goro followed it to the couch, and it morphed into a girl of rather petite height, with gold eyes and silver hair, wearing a blue uniform of sorts. 

"Hey... Aren't you that girl from before?" Goro said. "The one who provided us information about Maruki."

The girl nodded. "That is correct. I am Lavenza, and it is a pleasure to meet you once more, Goro Akechi."

Lavenza stood up to hand something over to him, before losing balance and tripping. 

"...Are you alright?" Goro asked reluctantly. 

"Maruki now has more control over this reality, and that makes it harder for me to maintain this form here. It is honestly a miracle that your cognition of this place is enough for me to hand you this." Lavenza gave Goro a sheet of paper, along with a pen. 

"Signing this contract permits you to the use of the Velvet Room. It will make it easier for us to talk there."

Despite being extremely confused, Goro signed his name. This girl had an association with Akira, so she can probably be trusted. Besides, he has his persona in case things go awry. 

Immediately, the space around him warped, and instead of his apartment, he was now standing in what appeared to be a prison cell. He pushed on the door, finding it to be open. There were several other identical cells in the room he was in, all numbered after the cards in the major arcana. In the center of the room was a man with a remarkably long nose sitting behind a desk, with Lavenza at his side. 

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The strange man said. "My name is Igor. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter."

That explains the paper he signed then. Other than that, Goro was still deeply confused. 

"Pardon me, but I'm afraid I don't follow." Goro said, using his more polite tone. 

"Ah yes, we do owe you a a proper explanation." Igor said. "I am a resident of the Velvet Room, and so is Lavenza here. Our duty is to assist all our guests in honing their abilities, namely, the power of the Wild Card. Due to unfortunate circumstances, we were not able to perform our duties, and for that I deeply apologize."

"Unfortunate circumstances?" Goro asked. "Are you talking about the false god the Phantom Thieves defeated?" 

"That is correct." Lavenza said. "You, along with Akira, were chosen by Yaldabaoth as a game to prove that humanity wishes for the control of a higher being. Under normal conditions, all Wild Cards are entitled to the use of the Velvet Room. However, the false god made sure you never awakened your power to its full potential."

Goro gritted his teeth. Of course he was the chosen playtoy of fate itself." So what you're saying is, I could have had the power to acquire different personas, just like Akira?"

"Indeed, but learning how to do so now would take up too much time." Lavenza answered. "Perhaps under more favorable circumstances."

Right. "Nevermind that. What happened to Akira?" 

"The trickster is currently... lost." Lavenza's voice softened. "I am currently unable to reach him, and it seems like Maruki was successful in merging Mementos and reality together. And that could only mean one thing..."

"He gave in." Goro said, rather angrily. The leader of the Phantom Thieves just _had_ to decide to be selfish _now_ , of all times. Goro shook his head. "If that's the case, why am I still awake? Maruki gave the condition that if we didn't show up the next day, he would take that to mean we all decided to accept his reality. Why weren't my memories erased along with my will to be free?" 

"If you can still remember, he did have you under his thumb, if only for a moment. Your desire to be free of control was enough for you to break free entirely—call it your "inner rebellion", if you will." Lavenza said. 

"Which brings us to the reason we brought you here." Igor continued. "As we stated before, you have the power of the Wild Card. Besides having the ability to use multiple personas, that power also grants the ability to turn bonds into strength. In other words, the stronger a Wild Card's bond is with their friends, the more powerful their personas become."

So Akira's power was quite literally based around the power of friendship. _Fantastic_. Will he have to befriend the plants and animals too? 

A tarot card appeared in front of Goro. The Fool arcana. "Of all the people you've met in your life, you've never made any sort of meaningful relationship with them. However, you were able to fulfill one bond, and that bond is with the trickster." Lavenza said. "This is why we believe you have the power to bring him back." 

So he really does have to drag Akira out of this mess _on top_ of somehow stealing Maruki's heart. How fun. 

"You said you weren't able to reach Akira. What the hell does that mean?" 

"That is precisely the problem... I do not know what has happened to him, and it deeply worries me. If Maruki found a way to turm him against you all it would mean great trouble." Lavenza shook her head. "Our power in the real world has greatly diminished due to Maruki's influence. I'm afraid this is all we can do. The rest is up to you."

She handed him a small key. "Your presence is always welcome here in the Velvet Room. Once this is over, if ever you decide to come back, we will carry out our duties and teach you all there is to know. 

"... Thank you." Goro pocketed the key, and Lavenza led him out a blue door he hadn't seen before. 

Once Goro left, Lavenza turned to face Igor. "Master... Do you really think he's capable of bringing him back? If the trickster truly has turned, they will surely have great difficulty defeating him."

Igor chuckled. "Have faith, Lavenza. After all, a Wild Card's nature is to defy fate, is it not? Regardless, this guest's ultimate fate will be a very interesting one indeed."

* * *

When he stepped through, he was back in his room again, and the door promptly disappeared. 

Goro quickly showered and got dressed. If he had to go grab Akira by the neck and slap him awake, he would. As much as he hated it, he can't take down Maruki singlehandedly, especially with how things are now. 

Not to mention that the irritatingly cocky leader of the Phantom Thieves actually _giving up_ was rather... concerning. It was something that greatly unnerved Goro. Akira Kurusu always persevered even if the odds were against him. It was ultimately one of the traits he admired about Akira. 

Running over to Leblanc was the most obvious option. However, when he got there, he had to do a double take, as Wakaba Isshiki was right there once more. 

It was an extremely surreal experience seeing a woman dead for almost three years suddenly come back to life as if nothing had happened. 

"Ah, Akechi-kun! It's great to see you again!" 

Even more unsettling was that Isshiki Wakaba—who he had killed with his own two hands—was apparently all goody-good with him. 

"Ah, here again for your usual?" Sojiro said. 

"Ah–yes. To go, please."

"Hey, Akechi!" Futaba waved from behind her laptop. She was with a blue-haired boy he didn't remember seeing before.

Oh wait, that's Morgana. Goro grimaced. Of all the forms he could take... It had to be this. 

"Here's your coffee, kid." Sojiro handed him the paper cup. Goro pulled out some money, but Sojiro simply gave him a weird look. 

"Hey, how many times do I have to remind you? Any friend of Akira's gets this on the house. It helps that you're a regular here too."

Akechi shoved the money back in his pocket. It would only look weirder if he had insisted on giving his pay. He sipped the coffee. It tasted as good as always.

"I bet you're here to see Akira for the millionth time." Morgana said. "Tough luck, he just left."

He just left? "Where to?" 

"Dunno. I assumed he went to your place or something." Futaba said. "It's honestly hard to tell what his schedule is."

Great. Does he have to search the entire city for him?

"We're supposed to steal Maruki's heart today, remember?" Goro said, testing their reactions. "I wonder what had happened to that plan."

Futaba looked at him, confused. "Uh, what?" 

Goro shook his head. "Nevermind. Thank you anyway."

Goro stepped out into the alleyway. It would take him forever if he searched for Akira himself through the entire city. 

Of course, he could just simply _ask_. 

Goro didn't really like talking to the other members of the Phantom Thieves when it wasn't related to Metaverse activity, but it's not like he had a choice. 

> **THE PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEARTS**
> 
> **Akechi:** have any of you seen Akira lately? 
> 
> **Haru:** Nuh-uh. But I think he mentioned something about working today. Probably one of his part-time jobs? 
> 
> **Ann:** I thought he was with you? I remember him telling me that he was gonna meet with you today or something. 
> 
> **Akechi:** I'm afraid not. I was looking for him here at LeBlanc, but apparently he just left. 
> 
> **Ryuji:** Dude, just call him or something! 
> 
> **Akechi:** he isn't picking up. 
> 
> **Ryuji:** oh. 
> 
> **Ryuji:** he's probably busy then. 

Akechi put the phone back in his pocket. This wasn't going anywhere.

 _Stupid, stupid Akira._ Goro thought. He just had to make everything infinitely harder, didn't he?

"Oh, Akechi-senpai! What are you doing just standing in front of Leblanc?" A red-haired girl approached him. Akechi didn't even know what to call her at this point. 

"I was looking for Akira." Goro said. "You wouldn't have seen him, have you Yoshizawa-san?" 

"Huh? He isn't here?" She frowned. "So he isn't sick anymore?" 

"Sick?" 

"He told me yesterday that he wasn't feeling too well, and probably wouldn't be going anywhere for the week. That's why I wanted to check up on him."

Goro frowned. "That's odd. Futaba told me he just went out somewhere."

"Oh." She said. "If that's the case, I guess he got better! Talk to you later then, Akechi-senpai!"

Goro frowned. All the Thieves seemed to have vastly different ideas of where the hell Akira was, and that alone was suspicious all on its own. 

Then he remembered something. After Yoshizawa-san fell unconscious due to Maruki driving her persona berserk, he had made her parents think she was at a training camp as to not arouse suspicion. Maruki was certainly not above doing that again, especially if it's necessary to keep his "reality" stable. 

If he wanted answers, he would have to go and ask the doctor himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite shuake headcanons involves Akira buying Goro a Switch (I've seen a few fics about this lol). But then I realized how ironic that was considering the Persona series was mostly on Playstation (Scramble doesn't even have Akechi TwT). Since Joker likes to torture Shadows for money he just bought Goro both consoles. (Hoo boy if Goro played Danganronpa :DDD) 
> 
> Also Atlus can pry (probably closet) Nerd!Goro from my cold dead hands. Robin Hood's existence and his choice of weapons only affirms that lmao.


	3. Chapter 3

_For the first time in a long time, Akira Kurusu was truly happy._

_He remembered his life back in his hometown of Inaba. His parents were the stereotypical "perfectionist parents" who frowned upon his "almost perfect" exam scores, critizicing him on how he could always "do better". They never comforted him emotionally, not even a hug when he was feeling down._

_His time here in Tokyo changed all of that_.

_His friends were honestly more of a family than his parents ever were, and he couldn't ask for more. Sojiro even asked him to stay here at Leblanc so he can finish his third year here, and of course he accepted._

_But most importantly, it allowed him more time with Goro Akechi._

_He had met Goro by accident really. He just happened to bump into him before one of his talk shows. Since then, they've kept in touch, and they developed a strong friendship. Akira liked to think it went beyond friendship._

_"Hey, it's been your turn for 10 minutes now. Run out of options, Joker?"_

_They were currently in his room, which was slightly refurbished courtesy of his friends. It was now slightly cleaner than before (Akira was still too lazy to maintain it's cleanliness) and had a proper bed instead of a worn mattress on crates. They were sitting at a small table by the window, a chess game currently in play. Goro was anticipating his next move._

_Akira moved his bishop to capture Goro's rook, which seemed to be guarding its king. "Check."_

_...Which left his own king open, and Goro seized the opportunity once it presented itself. "Checkmate."_

_"...Alright." Akira said, adding another mark to their tally of wins and losses. "You win again."_

_"Nevertheless, it was a good game." Goro started resetting the pieces for another round. "You've been spacing out a lot lately. Is everything alright?"_

_Something had been nagging at his brain. "I'm fine. I was just... thinking."_

_"About?"_

_"You."_

_"...If this is your attempt at flirting, you've failed miserably."_

_Akira chuckled. "Seriously though. I don't know really... I'm just grateful for everything that has happened to me in the past year. It was... quite an adventure."_

_And oh, it was truly an adventure. The existence of the Metaverse gave way to many, many miracles done by the Phantom Thieves. Changes of heart were almost everywhere, and it warmed Akira's heart to know that people who have been miserable before can now live happy lives once free of their distorted desires. Not to mention the thrill Akira got from exploring the cognitive world. There was a certain kind of fun after all in infiltrating a palace._

_"Reminiscing are we now?" Goro said, a smile gracing his lips. "I can't say I don't feel the same way though. I'm really happy with how things turned out."_

_The nagging feeling came back. Somehow, he thought it odd for Goro to say something like that, and at the same time it felt natural._

_Akira pushed that feeling to the back of his mind and grinned at him instead._

_"I'm really happy too. Also, loser of the next round should buy the winner some sushi. No holding back."_

_Goro smiled at him. "Challenge accepted."_

* * *

The trip to Odaiba didn't take too long. Once he got to the construction site, Goro was not at all surprised that Maruki's palace had turned into an actual building. The interior looked the same, except the people inside were not cognitions but instead the real deal. Goro looked down at his clothes. They were still the coat and scarf he had left his apartment with. He frowned. No outfit most likely meant no persona either.

Not that he was entirely defenseless, as he still had his gun, but it would certainly make the job much, _much_ easier. If it all came down to killing the doctor himself, Goro would not hesitate to do so.

"Ah, Akechi-kun." Maruki's voice said from the intercom. "I honestly didn't expect to see you here."

"I've come to ask something very important." Goro said.

"Hmm... I see. I'm here in the last room, down the hall, to the left."

Goro opened the door to find a counseling room, with small couches and snacks piled onto the table in front of it.

"Please, have a seat, and help yourself to some snacks." He said calmly. 

"... I'll pass." Goro said. "I'll get straight to the point. Where the hell is he?"

"I'm assuming you mean Kurusu-kun?" Maruki quirked and eyebrow. "Wherever he goes is up to him. As long as he's as happy as everyone else, I have no need to regularly check up on him. Not unless he asks me to, though."

"Cut the bullshit." Goro hissed. "You did something to him, didn't you? We already came to an agreement, and we decided to take you down. Now, come the next day, he disappears without a trace. I wonder why is that?" 

"I only did what he wanted me to do." Maruki said, expression unwavering. "But how about you Akechi-kun? It seemed that you suddenly gained awareness again of the old reality. That normally isn't meant to happen. Is something wrong?"

"Is something wrong?" Goro laughed hysterically. "Well no shit something's wrong! I've made my point clear. I want nothing to do with this so called "reality"! But what? You say you're giving us a choice, but all you've ever done is manipulate us! You didn't even keep your word about waiting until today, you just warped reality like our decisions don't matter!"

Maruki shook his head sadly. "I was only trying to make you understand. And I really did intend to keep my word. But forcing Kurusu-kun to make that decision only caused him more suffering, this time worse than before. He was having a _breakdown_ , Akechi-kun. I pulled him out of his despair and gave him a choice, and he accepted, out of his own free will."

"That wasn't a choice of _free will_ , he was in no condition to give a proper answer! Look at it however you want, but all of this is nothing short of manipulation." Goro shouted, punching the table with a resounding _thud_. "And you haven't answered my question! What the fuck did you do to him? Where is he?"

"Akechi-kun, please calm down—"

"TO HELL WITH CALM!" Goro stood up and pulled out his gun. "I'm giving you five seconds to tell me _everything_. And if you screw with me one more time—"

Goro didn't finish. Instead, the room wobbled and glitched before him, and the next thing he knew, his gun disappeared from his hand, and he was seated again on the couch.

"Violence won't do us any good." Maruki stated. "And Kurusu-kun is in his own reality now, mostly separate from this one, but still connected. . He stated that he didn't want to bother anyone else, so I arranged for a compromise. After all, I do owe him a lot, and his powers are rather unique. It was enough to grant him control over his own wish as long as it didn't interfere with the others. I'm afraid that's all I know. As far as I can tell, he doesn't want to be found, so even I don't know where he is exactly."

"You're a despicable human being." Goro spat. "You just think you can just play god with us? Now that you have powers?"

Maruki seemed to ignore that. "You know, you're pretty much the entire reason he wished for that in the first place. He was pretty torn over what had happened at Shido's Palace. You wanted more time with him, didn't you? You've seen _your_ ideal reality, all you have to do now is—

"I said, cut the bullshit." Goro snapped. "If you have nothing else useful to say, I'll be going now."

"I won't stop you, but this isn't what Kurusu-kun would want—"

Goro closed the door before he could continue. Maruki's intentions, however pure they may be, are still sickening. 

In the end, he left pretty much empty handed. He still didn't have a solid answer to where Akira was. Maruki simply drove the conversation around in circles. It made Goro wonder how the hell he became Shujin's counselor. Even a rat could do better counseling then he did. 

Maybe he just needed to think more. 

A growl from his stomach interrupted his thoughts. Right. In his haste to find out what was going on, he had forgotten to eat breakfast, and it was already noon. 

He stopped by at a nearby fast food store. It wasn't much, but it should suffice for now. 

His mind drifts to Leblanc. Sojiro would've given him free lunch if he'd stopped by. Not like the real one would though. 

Goro replayed Maruki's words over and over again in his head, trying to make sense of them. It was already more than clear that Akira's wish was for Goro to be alive, or at the very least see him again. And apparently since his desire conflicted with his own wishes of being free of this reality he decided to live in a separate one instead. 

It was a pathetic reason, and yet it was the one Akira went with. Did his disappearance seriously affect him that much? Akira had an entire band of Phantom Thieves and several other confidants, several other _better_ friends than Goro, and yet _he_ was the sole reason for his despair?

...Did Goro really matter to him that much? 

The thought made Goro feel _warm_ inside, of all things to feel. He quickly shook it off, and was disgusted by himself and Akira. He was foolish to think that highly of him. How distorted could his viewpoint be?

 _Wait a minute._ Goro paused.

 _Distorted_. Maruki mentioned Akira living in a different reality that was, at the same time, connected to this one. He approached Akira at his lowest point, when he broke down. Surely that would affect his way of thinking.

And distorted desires, when strong enough, form a palace. 

A ridiculous hypothesis, but it would line up with everything else Maruki said, and it's not like he had any better ideas. 

Goro quickly pulled out his phone, and opened the Meta-Nav. "Akira Kurusu."

_[Candidate found.]_

_You've got to be joking._

Goro couldn't believe it. The irony of the entire situation. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, who vowed to change the hearts of those corrupted, had fallen victim to his own twisted desires. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

"Leblanc."

_[No results]_

"Shibuya."

_[No results]_

Goro frowned. "Tokyo."

_[Candidate found]_

_Really? All of Tokyo?_ Goro rolled his eyes. He could deal with that later. Right now, all he needed was the last keyword. 

What could Akira see the world as? 

He racked his brain for an answer. This one was tougher than he thought. Unlike Shido or the other palace rulers, his view of the world wasn't as obvious. 

_Use your goddamn detective skills for once._

His mind goes back to all the times he spent with Akira, thinking of something— _anything_ , that would give him a clue. 

... 

_"C'mere a sec."_

_"H—hold on a moment!"_

_Goro stood still with shock as Akira messed up his hair beyond recognition. Was this really necessary? He's dealt with rabid fans before. No need to go through all this trouble. Would this even work?_

_Not to mention that Akira was really, **really** close to him. Goro felt his heart rate quicken as Akira's fingers would brush against his cheek every now and then. _

_"And the finishing touch." Akira took off his glasses and slipped them onto Goro._

_He had no idea of what he looked like right now, but it was probably absolutely ridiculous._

_The "disguise" did it's job surprisingly well though. The small crowd that his presence drew in quickly dissipated once they came to have a closer look._

_Goro also learned something noteworthy about Akira:_

_He didn't actually need those glasses._

... 

Goro actually never asked why he wore them, but he had a strong guess on why. Glasses are said to gave the illusion of a "softer" face. In other words, someone wearing glasses looks less likely to commit crimes. Akira probably picked them up after he was sentenced to probation to avoid intimidating everyone. 

In a way, it was similar to the way Goro used to act like a prim and proper Detective Prince to gain the favor of the public. 

_It's no different than a mask, yet another persona. A carefully practiced performance for the world to see._

Goro put all the pieces together in his head. "Theater." 

_[Candidate found. Beginning navigation]  
_

The world swirled and warped around him, and Goro found himself in what looked like the lobby of a movie theater. The various heists of the Phantom Thieves were plastered as movie posters on the walls, with a long line of people at the ticket stand. Goro couldn't tell if they were real or just mere cognitions. They didn't seem to pay attention to him though. There were also a few screens showing clips from what looked like some of their heists. There were titles such as "The Castle of Lust" or "The Museum of Vanity". 

Unfortunately for him, his clothes still hadn't changed. There was also a surprising lack of shadows. Even now, Akira didn't see him as a threat. Does he even know he's here?

Walking down the hall led to a giant space with several statues displayed at various levels, with a system of stairs connecting them together. Goro saw statues of the palace rulers and even his personas. 

Wandering even further, he stumbled into an empty hallway that was completely bare, unlike the others that were covered with Phantom Thieves merchandise. 

"Fancy seeing you here. I didn't even know you knew this place existed."

Goro whirled around to find himself staring... back at himself. The cognitive double wore an expression of amusement, though it didn't seem hostile. Not yet at least. 

"I'm assuming you're here to try and get him back, aren't you?" the cognition looked at him incredulously. "It certainly won't be easy. Akira is truly a stubborn person. Do you honestly think he'll just let you take him away from this place?" 

"Whether he goes willingly or not is not my concern. My only objective is getting him out." Goro narrowed his eyes. "I suggest you move out of the way, unless you prefer to have your brains blown out."

The cognition simply laughed. "Of course, of course, you wouldn't go down without a fight. What else to expect from me than the best after all?" 

"Oh, shut up will you?" Goro said. "I don't recall being this talkative."

"Really now? Whatever do you call those taunts you made in Mementos? Those times you would mock the Palace shadows for being too weak?" Cognitive Goro said. "Shouldn't you be proud? He got every single condescending inch of you right, all the way down to how you'd really act in a situation like this."

Goro scoffed. "If he really knew me _that_ well, then he'd know better than to listen to a word Maruki says and this place wouldn't exist! Enough of this. Get out of my sight."

He shoved the cognition out of his way but Cognitive Goro grabbed his wrist tightly. "You're not going anywhere."

Goro only barely dodged the punch the cognition threw at him before slipping out of his grip and kicking him to the ground. 

He felt his outfit materialize. "Come, Hereward!" 

"Haha... You really do put up a fight. Let's see the best you can do."

Several shadows spawned around him, surrounding Goro on all sides. 

_Shit_. The shadows blocked curse and are strong with bless. Even subconsciously, Akira knew where to hit the hardest. 

_"Megidolaon!"_

The attack eliminated some of them, but more shadows crawled in to replace their fallen comrades. 

"Is that all you've got? Surely Akira's _dear rival_ would have a plan up his sleeve." Cognitive Goro seemed to be enjoying himself. "Don't worry, they won't kill you, but you deserve a time out. Can't have you wrecking this place now, can we?" 

One of the shadow's attacks managed to land on Goro, making him drop to his knees. "You... You piece of shit... You're absolutely nothing like me. You're nothing but a hollow doppelganger."

He fired a shot at the cognition. Unfortunately, the cognition dodged it. "Oh, but this is how _Akira_ sees you, isn't it? He sees you as someone willing to fight for freedom even if it costs them their _life_. If this palace goes, I go with it, and I can't simply stand by and _watch_."

Goro cried out in frustration. He can't defeat them in his current state. Not when he was at a total disadvantage and was greatly outnumbered. 

He was barely keeping them back with his gun. Another bless attack landed on him, making him stumble over. 

Goro reached into one of his pants pockets. Back in Sae's palace, Akira had given him something in case they were ambushed and needed to escape as a last resort. 

His hands finally clasped the Goho-M, and he was warped back to the entrance before being thrown out into reality. As in, literally thrown out. Somehow, he had landed in a nearby bush as if someone had grabbed him and tossed him there. Luckily for him, no one seemed to notice. 

He looked at his phone again. Only half of the Meta-Nav's icon was visible.

_What the hell?_

Goro tapped the app icon. It opened up for a split second, glitched and returned to normal. Afterwards, it didn't respond.

 _Well am I just fucking lucky today_. 

He shouldn't even be surprised. Mementos had merged with reality anyway. Of course that would screw up the Meta-Nav. However... if that was the case, there was still hope in undoing Maruki's reality. By giving partial control to Akira, he had unknowingly separated a small part of the Metaverse from reality, if only a little. 

In this case, a little was more than enough. 

Goro stared back at the Nav. As much as he hated working with other people, he knew he couldn't do this alone. 

He needed help.


	4. Chapter 4

Goro didn't actually have a solid plan on how he was going to make the Phantom Thieves regain their memories of the true reality. However, out of all of them, Futaba seemed to be his best bet, since she was one of the few people willing to hear him out.

Not to mention that her situation prior to Maruki's rewriting of reality was... rather similar to his own. 

Contrary to what the Phantom Thieves believed, Goro didn't actually know Wakaba Isshiki would die. She was his first target, and he had been given the information that shooting her shadow would cause a mental shutdown, forcing her to be hospitalized and therefore halting her research. When Goro was told this, he assumed a "mental shutdown" would lead to a coma which she would eventually wake up from.

Which _is_ technically what had happened, except that it caused her to blindly walk into traffic after. 

When Goro later learned that he murdered Wakaba he shut himself in the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. More than once. It only got worse after he was made aware that Wakaba had a daughter. Shido's goons forged a note explaining maternal psychosis as the cause of her alleged "suicide". 

It hit way too close to home.

... 

_Goro curled up in the corner. How many has times has he cried? Vomited in the toilet? He doesn't know. It was already late and he hasn't eaten dinner, and yet he had no appetite._

_Wakaba had a daughter. A daughter whom he had robbed of normalcy. A daughter who would now grow up without a mother. A daughter who has been lied to and told that she was the cause of her mother's death._

_Goro almost laughed. Oh, the irony. But at least Wakaba truly did love her daughter, unlike Goro, who was deemed as nothing but a throwaway child._

_He can still hear the sound of a gun going off, the bang being muffled behind a locked bathroom door. Goro remembered knocking and asking his mom what was wrong, before screaming in horror at the puddle of blood that had formed under the door. All his relatives had disowned him on top of shaming his mother for what she had done, so there was no one to turn to._

_He was all alone._

_..._

He shook his head. Reminiscing was useless at a time like this. 

It was already late afternoon when Goro got to Leblanc. Luckily for him, Futaba and Morgana were still there, this time playing something on Futaba's laptop. The annoying pings every few seconds gave away that they were playing that stupid offline dinosaur game. 

"Dammit! I almost beat my high score this time!" Futaba set the laptop down. 

"I wanna try!" Morgana grabbed it. "Maybe I can be the one to beat it!" 

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" 

"Challenge accepted."

The pings were honestly getting on his nerves. 

"Futaba? We need to talk. Preferably upstairs."

"Huh? When did you get here Akechi?" Futaba tilted her head. Apparently she was so focused she didn't hear him come in. 

"I only arrived a few minutes ago, but I need to tell you something urgent."

"Ooookay." Futaba said before heading upstairs. "It better not be the entire script of Hamlet or anything!" 

Goro rolled his eyes and followed her into Leblanc's attic, where she took a seat on the bed. 

He took a deep breath. "I've been through quite a lot today, so I need you to hear me out."

"Hmm. I'm listening then." Futaba nodded. 

"Aren't you the least bit concerned that Akira's not back yet?" 

"Akira?" She wrinkled her nose. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him all day. He's probably just running late or something. He'll be back soon."

"You said he went out, correct?" Goro asked. "This morning, I bumped into Yoshizawa-san, and she told me Akira was sick. When I asked the other Thieves, they all had very different ideas of where Akira was, to the point where they all contradict each other."

"That isn't really out of the ordinary though. Akira is almost always out the entire day." Futaba pointed out. "And maybe Akira got a bit mixed up."

"That may be true, but Akira always gives a general idea of where he's going, especially to Boss." Goro said. "He's on probation after all."

"Probation?" 

Right, in Maruki's reality their crimes never happen. But wasn't Akira's probation one of the reasons why the Phantom Thieves were formed? 

"Tell me Futaba, how did you meet Akira in the first place?" 

"That's a weird thing to ask." Futaba said. "I met him when I heard that Sojiro was letting someone sleep in the attic."

"And do you remember the reason why he was there in the first place?" 

"I..." Futaba trailed off. 

"See? That isn't the only thing." Goro took a deep breath. "... Your mother has been dead for almost three years Futaba. Isn't that why you met the Phantom Thieves? Because your grief and guilt had formed a Palace?" 

Futaba's eyes widened in shock. "What..? A Palace? Persona users can't have Palaces! At least... That's what Mona said. You sure you didn't hit your head or something?" 

Goro sighed. Looks like he would have to resort to more... drastic measures. 

He opened his attache case and pulled out a flash drive and a single document. 

A copy of Wakaba's" suicide note". 

He handed her the paper. "Surely you remember this being read aloud to you, don't you?" 

Goro watched as the color drained from her face as she read the note. "I know what I'm talking about... because I'm the one responsible for her death. On official records, Wakaba Isshiki killed herself by walking into traffic during a fit of maternal psychosis. In reality, she suffered a mental shutdown as she was crossing the street."

"No... No, that isn't true!" Futaba said. "Mom is alive! She—She's literally just at Sojiro's! I saw her this morning! I—I..."

"Hey, Futaba? Akechi? Are you two done talking or-" Morgana walked in and gasped. "Whoa, Futaba, are you ok?" 

She was now huddled on the floor, and it looked like she was crying.

"G-get away from me, you murderer!" Futaba sobbed.

"Murderer? What's going on?" Morgana asked. 

He knew it. Of course he'd end up making things worse. Why did he even consider this idea? 

"I'm terribly sorry. I'll be taking my leave now."

He left the note and flash drive behind and quickly went home. 

_He's such a coward._

Goro knew it was pretty much a dick move to dump all this on Futaba and then simply leave her like that, but in all honesty he couldn't think of anything else. Of all the Phantom Thieves her situation was the one he was most familiar with.

But who was he kidding? He wasn't Akira, whose "bonds of friendship" were apparently powerful enough to defeat the demiurge. He had little connection to any of other thieves other than Joker. All the things everyone else said about not forming bonds with other people were starting to make sense to him now. Had Akira been in his position, he would have loads of backup, just like when the rest of the Thieves assisted them in defeating the berserk Cendrillon. Akira had all of his _wonderful_ friends to count on no matter how badly he screwed up. 

And then there was Goro, whose ambition and and desire for revenge had led to him pushing everyone away. Goro, who turned to his poor excuse of a father and let himself be manipulated all because he had craved for something as stupid as affection. Goro, who was given ultimate power only to let it go to waste. The literal power of friendship bestowed upon someone who had no friends somehow became the only hope in eradicating this false reality.

He laughed hysterically. Fate truly was a cruel mistress. 

At this rate he'd be stuck here forever. It would only be a matter of time until Maruki would brainwash him once more into being content. 

It was already late, so all Goro had left to do was shower and sleep. Feeling clean, fresh, and only slightly less miserable than earlier he tucked himself in. Unfortunately for him, his mind was restless and he tossed and turned for 10 minutes. Not to mention that Maruki might try something while he's asleep. 

He grabbed his phone and and some clip-on headphones he got from a second-hand shop. The headset was a discontinued model that had average sound quality. Something about it caught Goro's eye and he bought it on a whim. It wasn't anything like the wireless headphones he'd seen around recently, but there was a certain quality to the old design that Goro liked.

He scrolled through his saved playlist, looking for the appropriate song. Music helped him de-stress every now and then, especially jazz. It was one of the reasons why he frequented Jazz Jin. 

  * _Kimi no Kioku—Lotus Juice, Yumi Kawamura_
  * _Colors Flying High—Lyn Inaizumi_
  * _Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There—Lyn Inaizumi_
  * _Reach Out To The Truth—Shihoko Hirata_
  * _Burn My Dread—Lotus Juice, Yumi Kawamura_
  * _Beneath The Mask—Lyn Inaizumi_
  * _Time To Make History—Shihoko Hirata_
  * **_No More What Ifs—Lyn Inaizumi_**
  * _Last Surprise—Lyn Inaizumi_
  * _GROOVY—Lyn Inaizumi_



Goro let his head rest against his pillow as the calm music washed over him.

_People come and they go_

_Some people may stay with you though_

_I am all alone tonight and I kept on_

_Asking myself questions_

_Conceited I was at time_

_I never really doubted myself_

_But tonight got me thinking about it all_

_If I am the fool or what not..._

His phone then buzzed with a notification, interrupting his attempt to relax. 

"What is it now..." Goro mumbled, before paying full attention to what popped up on his screen. 

> **Futaba:** You have a LOT of explaining to do
> 
> **Futaba:** I've already told the others, they'll come over to Leblanc 8AM tomorrow 
> 
> **Futaba:** Don't be late
> 
> **Futaba:** And you better not be screwing with us
> 
> **Futaba:** Or you'll have hell to pay 

* * *

When Goro entered Leblanc the next morning, eight different heads turned to se who came in, staring at him as he took a seat on the far end of one of the couches.

Huh, Futaba did get them all to listen. 

"Wait..." Goro said, noticing something odd. "Why is Morgana..?"

"Still a human?" the cat—or rather, boy in question quipped. "I... actually don't know."

"I see..." 

A moment of silence passed. The atmosphere became more tense than it already was. Boss wasn't there, fortunately. Though Goro could use a cup of coffee, he didn't want to explain more than he needed to. 

"Alright, enough of this. " Ryuji said. "Tell us what the hell is happening here. Where's Akira?" 

"Before I answer that, I need to know how much you all know about the current situation." Goro said. 

"For starters, after you left yesterday, Futaba suddenly called us all for an important group chat where she told everyone else what you had said." Morgana explained. "After that, we realized we hadn't seen Akira at all yesterday, and more importantly, the fact that we weren't worried at all about it. Because of that, we were able to remember everything, but as you can see, unlike the first time, things didn't go back to the way they were."

Goro glanced over at Futaba to see how she was taking it. There was a wrinkled piece of paper in her hands, presumably the copy of the note he gave her. She seemed fine, if a bit uncomfortable. 

_Who was he kidding. Of course they all were uncomfortable._

Ann sighed. "Anyway, you seemed to be the only one still aware before that, and you were also the last person to talk to Akira..."

"We've explained ourselves." Makoto said. "It's your turn now."

"Well then, you're all aware Maruki stopped by Leblanc the other day to pick up the calling card himself, correct?" 

The others nodded.

"Before he did, he wanted to talk. Specifically regarding Akira's ultimate wish and how he'd be giving that up once this reality disappears. He... didn't take it that well."

"Akira's... ultimate wish?" Haru repeated. 

"That's right... Doc did promise happiness to everyone, didn't he?" Ryuji said. "Now that I think about it, Akira spent so much time trying to snap us all out of it, but we never got to see his own wish."

"Frankly, I don't think Akira realized it either until Maruki pointed it out." Goro grumbled.

"I remember this part." Morgana said. "You then asked me to give you guys a bit of time to talk. I left for Futaba's after that."

"Correct." Goro nodded. "I decided to knock some sense into Akira, remind him of what he's supposed to do, that Maruki must be stopped at all costs and this reality eradicated. However, it seems that I put too much faith in his decision-making skills that night. After I left, he allegedly broke down in his bedroom. Maruki then decided to take advantage of the situation by giving him the offer once more."

"No way..." Yusuke muttered. 

"That's just screwed up!" Ann said angrily. "That's basically taking advantage of him!" 

Futaba dropped her eyes to the floor. "But if Akira's not here right now... that means..."

"Senpai... accepted the deal." Sumire said sadly.

"Precisely. Normally that would mean he'd appear here with the rest of you. However, Akira's wish was rather _specific_ , and Maruki decided that it was best granted by placing Akira in his own palace."

Goro watched as all of their faces darkened with horror. 

"Hey, hold on. What could Akira possibly wish for that caused him to break down like that?" Ryuji asked. 

Goro's mouth went dry. It was one thing trying to process it. But to actually say it out loud... 

"It was me. His wish... was to spend more time with me."

They all went silent with shock. No one said anything for several minutes. Goro wanted the ground to swallow him up whole already. He never felt so out of place. 

"Don't you think... It was kinda insensitive of us to just, y'know, brush it off like that?" Ryuji was the first to speak, surprisingly. 

Everyone turned to look at him. "I mean, look, I'm not that good with feelings and shit, but wasn't he there for us at our lowest times? Akira's the kind of person who likes helping people. He helped all of us overcome our own problems, didn't he? He would always be willing to listen to us rant, but he never complained about his own problems." 

Morgana nodded in agreement. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Ryuji. Akira was there to help us when we needed it, but we never really returned the favor. I don't think _anyone_ was okay after what had happened back there in Shido's palace."

"You do have a point there..." Yusuke sighed. "But there was just so much going on." 

"I can't believe we didn't realize." Ann said. "Akira was hurting all this time, just like us. I feel horrible now thinking about it."

"If that's the case, why didn't he just... tell us?" Makoto asked. "We're his friends after all."

"I can't speak on behalf of Akira, but I doubt the leader of the Phantom Thieves would want to admit to _mourning_ over the one who almost put a hole in his head. Who the hell grieves over the death of a traitor anyway? I've _killed_ people." Goro said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty sure Akira's the only person deluded enough to think I'm _still_ worth something." 

Futaba crumpled the note she was holding into a tight ball and chucked it at Goro's face. "That's because you _are_ still worth something!" She said, frowning at him. "If there was one important thing Akira taught me, it's that people can change. No matter how badly they've acted or messed up in the past, they can change for the better as long as they're willing to! The fact you're here right now proves that! If Akira still saw something good in you, I'm taking his word for it." 

"Futaba's right!" Ann said. "All the bad things you did in the past were forced upon you by Shido! But that doesn't mean you can't do better!"

"If there's something Akira-Senpai has taught me, it's to accept the past and move on! Your past actions don't define the person you are now!" Sumire said. 

"Akechi-kun. I still do not forgive you for what you've done." Haru said. "However, none of us actually _hate_ you. Your situation was a result of corrupt adults having their way with things, just like all of us. Which is why we all understand to some degree."

Goro looked around at them, searching for a trace of a lie in their expression, before giving a hollow chuckle.

_Is this... what having actual friends feels like?_ _A small, miniscule part of him dared to hope. The weight of the situation, however, crushed that lingering sense of hope to smithereens._

"I'm relieved that you've all decided to cooperate." He said. 

"Of course we would!" Ryuji said. "Our leader is in trouble, so it's up to us to get him back!" 

"You said he had a palace right?" Makoto said. "That means another trip to the Metaverse. We better get prepared."

Suddenly, the growling of someone's stomach filled the room. "I apologize...In my haste to get here, I have forgotten to eat breakfast..."

"You always do Inari!" Futaba pouted. 

As if on cue, Sojiro entered Leblanc with several groceries in tow. 

"Futaba... You didn't say you would be having your friends over today."

"...Sorry." Futaba mumbled. "Hey, Inari! You better eat breakfast because I'm not gonna cover for you when you faint in battle!" 

Sojiro gave an amused chuckle. "It's a good thing I bought a lot. Why don't I cook you all breakfast?" 

The rest of them cheered. While they were distracted, Goro sat a tad bit further away from all of them, just a bit closer to the wall. 

As much as the idea of _not being hated_ sounded nice, it was still a rather foreign concept to Goro. It was a reminder of how everything in this reality was fabricated happiness. If Goro let himself, he could have imagined that he was scot-free in a world where he Akira's friends were also his friends. 

It left a sick feeling in his stomach. That would never happen, and never will. As much as he tried, he still couldn't comprehend why they still gave him another chance. But it's something their leader would do, wouldn't he? Akira's kindness and compassion was truly something else. 

_Since when did he care so much for what Akira thinks of him?_

"Hey." Morgana took a seat next to him. "Aren't you gonna have some curry?" 

He placed a plate next to Goro. It would be impolite if he didn't eat it. 

"Ah. Thanks."

He ate his curry in silence, watching as the rest of the thieves gathered together to make small talk. 

"You know," Morgana started. "Akira still brings that glove he got from you around."

Goro _tsked_. "Typical from someone like Akira, if I remember correctly, he has an entire shelf dedicated to knick-knacks he got from everyone he has met."

"That's not what I meant." Morgana shook his head. "He really treasures it. Once, he left it in his pocket when his pants were washed, and he was panicking trying to look for it. He eventually calmed down when he found it."

"So? Why are you telling me this?" 

"He cares about you, Akechi. A whole lot." Morgana said. "And you... you feel the same way too, don't you? Isn't that why you're here?"

Goro rolled his eyes. "I'm only here so I can guarantee my own freedom. It just so happens that that plan is heavily dependent on Akira."

"Whatever you say." Morgana stood up to put the dirty plates in the sink.

Goro glanced down at his own hands. He realized the ones he was currently wearing were his spare set. The other was still in his apartment.

_Those were actually an expensive pair_. Goro thinks. _At least Akira's taking good care of it._

After all, he did promise a rematch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been established in the Persona 3 movies that the soundtrack of the game exists as actual songs by artists in-universe (there were scenes where "Burn My Dread" was heard playing from Minato's headphones, heck he had Ryoji listen too) so I adopted it as a neat little headcanon that Goro enjoys Lyn's work (I mean who doesn't lol)
> 
> Also, yes, the headset Goro owns is similar to, if not Minato's old set. In the manga, he and Ryoji went shopping for a new pair, so I took that to mean he sold his old ones right after for money. I thought it was a nice way to tie together the continuity since we don't exactly see any of the previous cast interact with the Phantom Thieves (I'm not counting Persona Q2 because they don't remember the encounter)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underlined phrase contains a song :D

"Hmm." Futaba said, studying Goro's phone. "So the Nav just crashed and didn't want to open?" 

"Well, yes." Goro nodded. "I was hoping you could do something about it."

Goro had honestly almost forgotten that the Meta-nav was broken. Apparently, the issue also extended to the phones of the Phantom Thieves.

"Have you tried restarting it?" She asked. 

Goro blinked in confusion. "Restarting it? You can do that?"

Futaba rolled her eyes. "It's an app, and restarting it is pretty much the basic way of troubleshooting."

When she handed it back, the app was now working. 

_Well excuse him if he didn't know that magical apps that brought you to another plane of existence can be fixed like any other regular app._

"Let's just get this over and done with." He said as the world wobbled and shifted around him.

"Hey! I'm a cat again!" Mona said, looking over his body. "Hey... my voice changed too!" 

The other Phantom Thieves stopped to marvel at the large palace that belonged to their leader. 

"So this is Joker's palace..." Fox said in awe. "The architecture and layout is truly something to behold! The color scheme of the area seems to reflect the colors of his persona, as well as—"

"Someone please stop Inari before he starts having another artgasm." Oracle said.

"I can't believe Joker's heart was corrupted to take this form." Violet shook her head.

"Wait a sec." Ryuji said. "We're all in our outfits already."

"I may have angered one of the cognitions here from my last visit." Goro said nonchalantly. 

"First things first, we need to find Akira. If his palace is anything like Maruki's, that means his shadow isn't here and the real Akira is physically present somewhere." Mona said. 

"There's nothing on this floor." Oracle said after scanning it. "Let's move on."

Unlike the first time Goro came here, the place was devoid of people. It gave the area an eerie atmosphere. Akira's palace was _massive_. They've gone through nearly three floors and still no signs of enemies, or the boy in question. 

"This is so _weird_." Panther was looking at the screens showing movie previews. "It's all the heists we've done, only in full detail and from Joker's point of view."

"I've never seen a palace so... not corrupted, if you get what I mean." Queen said. "All the other ones we've seen have some sort of distorted cognition. So far everything we've seen is relatively normal."

"Not to mention that there's no shadows or anything." Skull said. "It's starting to creep me out."

"Don't let your guard down." Goro started on another flight of stairs. "I got ambushed the last time I was here."

"Hold on a sec Crow, there's definitely something on the next floor!" Oracle warned him. 

The reds and blacks of the previous floors gave way to a predominantly blue room which reminded Goro of the Velvet Room. Curtains with lace covered the walls, and a chandelier was hanging from the center of the ceiling. In the room were several shadows wearing pompous formal attire and different kinds of elaborate masks, [dancing to the graceful echo of a distant violin. ](https://youtu.be/TcOjY1G3kao)

"Is this... a masquerade ball?" Violet asked.

"It sure looks like it." Mona said. "Seems like there's no other way to get through but to ambush some of them."

"I'm detecting something else with a way different reading than a normal shadow." Oracle said. "Keep your guard up guys."

The shadows were low-level ones easy to kill, which was rather odd for a palace that belonged to the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He recalled that the ones which the cognition set loose on him were a lot stronger. Which, again, was strange since they're supposed to be warding the palace.

"Ok, I think that's it for this floor." Mona said. 

Goro frowned. Something had to be up. Akira is known to be nearly impossible to predict. He couldn't just let them off that easy. 

"Guys, we've got company!" Skull said.

Everyone turned to look at him. His face was pale with fear. "Guys, I swear, I didn't say anything!" 

"What are you talking about?" Panther narrowed her eyes in confusion. "That was clearly you speaking."

"Guys," Oracle said frantically. "the weird reading's getting stronger!" 

Goro opened his mouth to say something, but he heard something else that was distinctly his voice and it sure as hell didn't come from _him_.

"Well, well, I didn't expect you to come back." Cognitive Goro appeared, wearing his white Metaverse outfit and a condescending smile on his face. "Let alone with company. I thought the great Detective Prince didn't _need_ friends." 

"Will you just shut up already?" Goro yelled, pulling out his gun and firing at the cognition. 

"Crow-senpai!" Violet yelled. "I think you need to calm down a bit—"

 _"Tetrakarn."_ The attack bounced off and hit Goro square in the chest. 

"Crow! You good?" Oracle asked worriedly. "Someone heal him!"

He felt a Dia being cast on him before he stood up.

"Even I have to admit, you _are_ getting rather sloppy." Cognitive Crow mocked. "Perhaps shooting Akira has messed up your aim?" 

"Alright, that's enough!" Skull said. "Quit being weird already! Where's Joker?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the Cognition sneered. "He's in a better place now, that's for sure. All you're doing is trying to take him away. But the Phantom Thieves would do anything to keep their dear leader from harm, isn't that right?" 

_"Heck yeah!"_

_"Of course! We can't let Joker get hurt!"_

Oracle gasped. "Hey, is that...?" 

They all looked behind Cognitive Crow. Eight other cognitions had appeared, all of them wearing the same outfits and same faces as Goro's companions.

"Uhh... I can't be the only one seeing this right?" Violet asked. "That's _us_."

"I guess I shouldn't judge you too much for bringing along friends." Cognitive Goro shrugged. "That would be horribly hypocritical of me." 

"C'mon guys, we can take them down nice and easy!" Mona took his weapon out. 

"We'll see about that." Cognitive Goro laughed. "After all, the Phantom Thieves are _unstoppable_ , aren't they?"

 _For fuck's sake_. Goro summoned Hereward. "Megidolaon!" 

It hit, but it didn't leave a scratch afterwards as the cognitive Queen cast Mediarahan. 

"They all have the same weaknesses and strengths as we do!" Oracle said. "But be careful!" 

The Thieves attacked accordingly. Since Goro was currently the only Curse specialist on the team, he was left with the Cognitive Violet and Crow, who used the moveset of Robin Hood. 

He cast Eigaon on both of them, following it up with Rebellion Blade. The attack downed both of them, but Cognitive Crow didn't seem fazed. 

"You... You are just plain stupid, aren't you?" Cognitive Crow laughed menacingly. "Leaving yourself vulnerable like this? I expected better of you."

Before Goro could react, tentacles resembling the ones in Maruki's Palace burst from the ground and restrained him, preventing him from attacking. 

"Crow!" 

"Don't worry, all he needs is a little time out. No harm will come to him as long as he stops resisting."

Suddenly, the floor beneath him opened up, and the last thing Goro heard before being pulled into the darkness was the screams of the Phantom Thieves. 

* * *

_"Honey? What's wrong?"_

_"Ah, nothing really. Just had a bad dream. I feel like I'm forgetting something important."_

_"Maybe you'll remember it in the morning. It's already past midnight."_

_"Alright then... I'm sorry for waking you."_

_"It's ok. Just go back to sleep Akira." He stroked his hair. "Sweet dreams."_

* * *

When Goro came to, he found himself tied to a small plastic chair. The room he was in was a dark gray, with two dim lights that flickered slightly every now and then.

 _Of course it's that damned interrogation room._

In front of him was his dreaded cognition, who had a revolver in his hands. "Don't you think this scene looks familiar? My, my, how the tables have turned."

Goro scoffed. "What are you gonna do, kill me?" 

"Of course not! Akira wouldn't want you dead now, would he? But you don't deserve to go free either. I can't have you running around destroying the place, so it's you and me in this room until everything goes back to the way it was."

"You sick piece of shit." Goro spat. "He wouldn't want this!" 

"Since when did you care about what Akira wanted? All that ever mattered to you was your own freedom!" The cognition said angrily. "At least _I'm_ sensitive enough to respect his wishes."

Goro tugged on the bonds holding him. Unfortunately for him, Akira's cognition of a knot was actually really fucking tight. The position his hands were in made it impossible to even try to untie himself. 

"You're just some fucked-up version of me Akira conjured in his mind to justify his delusions. Your thoughts and feelings don't mean _shit._ " 

"At least I care about Akira." the cognition said. "I don't believe I can say the same about you."

Goro laughed maniacally. "Ha... What a funny joke. It _sickens_ me. You call this _caring_? Your very existence... it pisses me off!"

_Driving himself berserk was usually a last resort._

"Hereward... _Laevateinn!_ "

The ropes holding him snapped as the attack connected with the cognition, knocking him to the ground. Goro tackled him and grabbed the gun. 

"Why you—"

_BANG._

The cognition dissolved into black smoke, leaving Goro alone in the room. At least _that_ had been taken care of. 

He forced himself to calm down before looking around. His weapons were nowhere to be found. The cognition must have hid them somewhere or thrown them away altogether. His persona was still there, but Goro was already pretty drained as is. The revolver, however, still had 5 out of 6 chambers loaded. 

_Perfect for a rather intense game of Russian Roulette._

He dismissed the fleeting thought. Maruki would revive him anyway if he died. And it certainly wouldn't help the situation at hand. It would make all their efforts to get here meaningless. 

There was a door on the other side of the room that he didn't notice before. It led to yet another hallway, as bare as the room. That meant he was most likely in yet _another_ section of Akira's palace, too far away to call for backup as well, since Futaba hadn't contacted him yet. 

_No choice but to move forward then._

* * *

"OK, I think that's all of them for now." Mona said as they watched the cognitions fade away. 

"That certainly took longer than expected." Noir said. "Isn't there a safe room around here? I think I need a break."

"Hold on." Oracle scanned the area. "There should be one on the next floor."

"Alright then, so we get to the safe room, then we go search for Crow." Queen said.

"I can't seem to find his signal anywhere." Oracle frowned. "I don't even know how big this palace even is. As much as I hate just leaving him behind, if we spent all of our time looking for him, we won't be getting anywhere."

"Maybe it's best if we rest for a bit first." Violet said as they proceeded. 

However, once they got to the second floor, a huge group of shadows spawned in front of them.

"Well shit." Skull said. "We're gonna be here a while."

* * *

How long has it been since Goro entered Akira's palace? For all he knew, it could have been years ago. It's not like there was any sort of way to tell time. One of the first things he learned was that time passed rather irregularly inside the Metaverse. Although it didn't stop entirely, you could stay in the Metaverse for what you would perceive to be days and come out finding that only a few hours had passed. It was rather unpredictable. It didn't help that the structure of the palace remained the same so far: boring, bland gray with a few cracks in the wall. The hallways branched off here and there, but most led to a dead end with the occasional treasure chest, and even the treasure chests didn't have much to offer. Just a few weak healing items and nothing more. 

_His feet were starting to hurt from all the walking, honestly._

What was more concerning, however, was the lack of anything else trying to stop him. But it was also highly possible that any hostile force here in the palace would instead go after the Phantom Thieves, since the cognitive version of himself was supposed to be keeping him hostage. Either way, that meant he had to do all the work by himself. 

_When I find Akira, the first thing I'm going to do to that idiot is to slap him awake._ Goro thought. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of wandering aimlessly, Goro found the stairs.

_It's about time._

The stairs got narrower and narrower, until they were only wide enough for a single person. The stairs led to a plain wooden door. Trying the knob, Goro found that it was locked. Perfect. He didn't have anything he could use as a lock pick either.

_He could just shoot the lock._

He took a few steps back and aimed. The impact effectively broke the lock enough for Goro to yank the door opened. He prepared himself for a potential ambush, but he was instead greeted by something entirely different.

There was a stage set up to look like the interior of a house, and on that stage was Akira Kurusu, but it wasn't the Akira he came to know in the past year. This Akira was noticeably more neat and lacked glasses. He was sitting at a dining table, across a man and a woman who were both visibly distressed. 

... 

_"You had so much potential..." The woman was wiping her eyes with a bunch of tissues. "You were the brightest of your class... But what? You threw that all away! Harassment, Akira? How could you do such a thing?"_

_"I already told you I didn't do anything wrong!" Akira yelled._

_"Do not raise your voice at your mother!" the man—who had to be Akira's father—shouted. "There were witnesses, Akira! You shoved him to the ground for no reason at all! The police said the evidence checks out! Don't you dare tell me you did nothing wrong."_

_"They're lying! All I wanted to do is help!"_

_"Help? So far you've done nothing but cause us trouble!" His father said. "This is going on your permanent record! What will the others think when they find out what you've done?"_

_"Is that honestly all you care about?" Akira asked, hurt evident in his eyes. "What about the fact I was arrested—"_

_"You needed to be arrested!"_

_"Enough! Please..." Akira's mother weeped. "Akira, don't you realize what you've done? Your actions... they have consequences. The police have already come to a decision. You'll stay in Tokyo under probation for a year."_

_Akira's eyes widened in horror. "You're sending me away for a year?"_

_"It was either that or juvie." His father said. "Don't act so surprised. You'll be staying with Sakura-san. And you'll have to behave. We don't want to cause him any more problems than necessary."_

_"Is that all you think of me? As a problem?"_

_"Akira," His mother said gently. "You have to understand—"_

_"You're the one that doesn't understand! All you care about are the good things I do and treat me like I don't exist when I screw up! None of you care about me at all!"_

_"Akira!"_

_Akira ran offstage, tears streaming down his face. His mother and father chased after him._

_..._

Goro was left stunned, processing what he had just seen. This was a memory, not unlike the ones in Maruki's palace. Akira had once offhandedly mentioned his parents in one of their talks, but Goro didn't know that their reactions were this... severe. But then again, a minor having a criminal record is no small thing. It's a permanent stain that would forever taint your public image. 

Inspecting the stage, Goro saw an envelope pinned to one of the backdrops. Inside was what appeared to be a ticket, a key, and a elaborately decorated card with fancy cursive written on it.

_A trickster may seem mischievous and sly,_

_But even when innocent no one believes his alibi._

_Sent away to Tokyo, upset and disowned,_

_This trickster was **throw** n away, all alone. _

Goro groaned in frustration. _Must Akira always be so overdramatic?_

There was a short description too on the back. 

_Collect all four tickets to find what you seek._

Goro rolled his eyes. He was already at the end of his rope with the ridiculously large palace, being separated from any backup, and Akira's over-the-top theatrics. And now he has to go watch Akira's flashbacks in the most outrageous way possible _and_ go scavenger hunting for tickets. 

_I swear, I'm gonna kill him when I find him._

There was only one other door, and the key he got fit perfectly in the lock. The next room looked the same as the first, only with a different setup onstage. This time, the stage was set up to look like the interrogation room, where a drugged, badly beaten up Akira was being questioned by Sae Nijima. 

... 

_"I see." Sae said after listening to all Akira had to say. "What a disappointing end to the hero of justice. I still have more to ask, but my allotted time is nearly up. However, I do have a suggestion for you. Care to strike a deal? If you cooperate, I'll consider lightening your sentence."_

_Akira said nothing as Sae continued to explain what will be done to him if he doesn't consider her proposal._

_"Going forward, I will read a list of people who are closest to you in this case. Tell me honestly whether or not the following are involved with the Phantom Thieves."_

_She then proceeded to enumerate the names of all his friends. Akira refused to sell any of them out._

_"So you won't speak a word about any of your teammates or collaborators? Do you even understand the position you're in?" She shook her head in disappointment. "Let's discuss one other person—Goro Akechi."_

_Akira's eyes lit up briefly, as if that name was suddenly of great importance._

_"There have been reports that said he was acting alongside the Phantom Thieves as well. Might he be part of your team too?"_

_"Not Akechi." Akira said, without missing a beat._

_"So he wasn't one of you..." Sae frowned. "Very well. It seems that you have no intention of bargaining with me."_

_He nodded._

_That made Sae angry. The conversation turned into one of what true justice was. It was almost funny, given the situation._

_"Unfortunately, my time is up."_

_"Wait." he had said. "Let's make a deal."_

_Sae raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"_

_Akira tells Sae to show the phone to the true traitor. Sae decides to play along till the end, taking the phone and walking away, leaving Akira in the room._

...

Goro winced. He could still remember that exact moment where he aimed his gun at Akira's head. He remembered his hand trembling as he pulled the trigger and watched the blood flow from the hole in Akira's head before the lifeless body dropped onto the table with a sickening splat, coating the table in red.

It may have been a cognition, but it was just too graphic. Too real.

Unlike the previous room, the cognitive Akira stayed put in the chair, like some sort of doll. But that's what cognitions were, weren't they? He would just have to endure the uncanny look in their eyes as he searched for the second envelope. He eventually found it under the chair. There was the second ticket, key, and card.

_The Phantom Thieves were deceived by a Crow_

_Who had decided to put their leader on death row._

_But the trickster, arrested and taken in for interrogation,_

_Had found **a way** to reverse the situation_.

Goro reread the poem. Does Akira's subconscious think of these regularly? Does he just make poems of his own dire situations to help him feel better?

_That's... actually not a bad way to cope._

Goro honestly should have expected the setup for the next scene. The pattern the memories seemed to follow was any sort of traumatic event that had happened to Akira. Accordingly, the next scene was the showdown at the boiler room.

...

_"I'll give you one last chance. Shoot them." Shido's twisted version of Akechi sneered as he held Crow at gunpoint._

_"Haha..." Crow was hunched over, still weakened from the prior battle. "I was such a fool."_

_Crow pointed his own gun at Joker, who flinched slightly._

_"Don't misunderstand." He said. "You're the one who is going to disappear!"_

_Crow whirled around and shot his cognitive double in the side. He turned and fired a second time, the bullet whizzing past Joker and hit the switch behind him._

_The wall rose up between them, separating Crow from the rest of the Phantom Thieves._

_"Hurry up and go." Crow's voice came from behind the wall._

_"You fool!" Fox said. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"_

_"The real fools... are you guys. You should hava abandoned me long ago." Crow groaned in pain. "Let's make a deal... You won't say no now...will you? Please... steal Shido's heart in my stead... End his crimes once and for all!"_

_The others were stunned. Finally, Joker said. "I'll hold onto your glove."_

_A surprised gasp came from the other side. "After all this... That's what you have to say? Seriously Akira... You really are..."_

_Two gunshots rang out loud and clear. The silence that followed was deafening._

_"His signal..." Oracle said softly. "It's gone..."_

...

Goro didn't realize how tightly he was clenching his fists until he realized that the claws of his outfit were digging into his palm. He still remembered that moment in his own mind, clear as day and as sharp as a knife. The envelope for this one was harder to find, but Goro eventually plucked it out from a compartment behind the switch that was shot. Three down, one left to go. 

_A traitor had betrayed the Phantom Thieves and yet,_

_His bond with the trickster is one he did not regret._

_The trickster refused to believe that the Crow was killed,_

_As the glove in his hand stood for **your** promise unfulfilled. _

Letting out a sigh, Goro unlocked the door to a setup he was sure did not exist in reality. It looked similar to the first area of this palace. To his surprise, the Akira that was there was _crying_. 

He realized, he had never seen Akira cry before. 

... 

_Akira was simply there, hunched over and shaking. Tears were streaming down the sides of his face._

_"Hey, are you alright?" A kind voice asked. Maruki stepped into view._

_"I know, you're probably very confused." He said. "But I sensed great grief coming from you. When I arrived, it seemed like you were having a nightmare, so I used a bit of my power to pull you out from it. It seems that forcing you to make a decision is only making you suffer."_

_"I—" Akira sniffled. He was still crying. "I just didn't want Akechi to disappear again."_

_"I've told you time and time again Kurusu-kun, I don't want you to suffer, you deserve happiness, just like everyone else." Maruki said sympathetically. "I completely understand. It's like with me and Rumi. However, unlike me and Rumi, you two can live happily in my reality together. Isn't that what you really want?"_

_"Is it?" Akira asked. "How sure am I that you aren't just making me want to?"_

_"I gave everyone a choice whether to accept it or not. Your resistance is proof that your thoughts are your own." Maruki stated. "If you willingly choose my reality, then I don't see a problem."_

_Akira seemed to think it over. "But what about Akechi?"_

_"Ah, so it's Akechi-kun you're concerned about?" Maruki thought for a bit. "From what I've seen, he has his mind set on rejecting this reality. However, if it came from you, it may be possible to convince him otherwise."_

_Akira's eyes widened. "It's possible?"_

_Maruki nodded. "I can lend you a fraction of my power. You are a pretty powerful Persona user yourself, Kurusu-kun. If you believe that you can do it, it will become reality. So, what do you say?"_

_A pause. Then, without hesitation. "It's a deal."_

...

Goro didn't know what made him angrier: The fact Maruki didn't keep his word and wait until the next day, or the fact Akira was spineless enough to fold over something as trivial as this. Granted, he was in no state to give a proper answer, but still. 

Goro hated Akira for it. He hated how he said yes so easily. He hated how foolish Akira was to think that this would solve anything. He hated how Akira still wanted him _alive_. What was the point in that? They were only delaying the inevitable truth after all.

 _Whatever_. Goro thought. _Last envelope, then hopefully this place will give me an actual answer._

_A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,_

_Like how someone breaks down when pushed to the brink._

_The trickster failed to hide the cracks in his **mask** , _

_His psyche too weak to finish his task._

The last key gleamed as he fit it into the last lock. Opening the door... 

He was immediately attacked by a horde of Maras.

_He hates this place with his very soul._

"Hereward, Megidolaon!"

_Absolutely disgusting._

It didn't take Goro too long to finish them off. This area of the palace, as Goro observed, had shadows patrolling every few feet or so. But they were positioned far enough that Goro was able to sneak past them. Fortunately for him, there were no more branching pathways, and he eventually got to the end, where there was a giant door.

"Hey! You there!" 

Goro looked for the source of the voice. There in the corner was Futaba Sakura, wearing a uniform of sorts. He was about to question where the others were before realizing that this must be a cognition of her.

"No passing from here on out without tickets!" She said, frowning at him. 

"I have them right here." He said, waving them in front of her face. 

Her expression changed in an instant. "Oh, OK. Go insert them in that ticket chomper thingy there in the door."

Upon closer observation, there was a device on the door with a large display and a keyboard. Under that was a small slot, possibly for the tickets. Goro fed them in one by one and watched as they got eaten up. Nothing happened afterwards. 

"Am I missing something?" He asked impatiently. "Why isn't this thing opening?"

"You have to input the password as well, duh." The Cognitive Futaba said. "Don't ask me though. I have no idea what it is. Also I'd recommend not getting it wrong. Something nasty is gonna happen if you do."

Goro wanted to bang his head against the wall in frustration. He wasn't informed of any password whatsoever. All that was said was to find the tickets. That was it. 

Goro looked again at the door. Judging from the screen and keyboard, the password was a phrase. Four blanks were illuminated on the display. 

_Wait. Four blanks... Four envelopes... And each envelope came with a weird poem._

Goro took the poem cards from out of his pocket and shuffled through them, looking for clues. He then noticed, each card had one word in bold. Putting that in order... 

Goro began typing in the words. "Throw... away... your... mask..."

Once he hit enter, a _ding_ resonated through the room, and the door opened. 

When he went through he found himself in... Shibuya's underground mall? 

"What...?" 

The door closed behind him, and a feeling of dread settled in his chest, along with a cloudiness in his mind. He could feel it. Maruki's influence was everywhere in the air, mixed with a twisted power that Goro could only assume was Akira's control over this place.

He suddenly heard a hiss and crackle in his ear. He could only barely make out what was being said.

"... Crow!.... Where... You?" Oracle's voice filtered in. "....Can't.... Location..."

Goro didn't even know where the hell he was. At first glance, you could have thought this was the actual Shibuya, until you realize the people around you are quite _literally_ faceless masses. 

Knowing the entire place by heart, Goro ran and ran until he ended up in Shibuya Crossing. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a one-to-one replica of the entire crosswalk, and Goro was willing to bet that it extended even further than that. Akira's palace location was Tokyo, but Goro didn't expect it would actually be _this much_. All the billboards were showcasing the Phantom Thieves logo, along with some merch being sold in the stores here and there. 

"Crow... Crow!" Oracle's voice cleared up. "Can you hear me? I found where your general direction is, but I can't pinpoint your exact location. Where the heck are you?" 

"I can hear you..." Goro said, still trying to process his surroundings. "And I'm not entirely sure how far I am into the palace. I'm currently in Shibuya's Crosswalk. Or at least, Akira's interpretation of it."

"Shibuya's Crosswalk? Inside his palace?" Oracle said in disbelief. "Okay, stay where you are, we'll try to find you."

"Alright..."

"Hey, you sound tired." She actually sounded concerned. "You should probably rest in a safe room or something."

"I'm fine. But thank you anyway." Goro said. He was in fact, not fine. All the fatigue suddenly came crashing down on him. Combined with the sudden haziness of his mind, all he wanted to do was sleep.

He shook himself awake. None of that now. Right now, he has a job to finish. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took quite a while to come out whoops. I sort of got sidetracked playing Bang Dream! Girls Band Party! and the mobile version of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (honestly if you didn't know about Bang Dream I'd recommend it because they have persona songs there lmao). Plus, poetry is much harder to write than normal prose and I'm not the best poet out there but I tried!
> 
> Also if any of you are fans of Hamilton just--  
> "The World Was Wide Enough" at the boiler room scene. Just that. Imagine Goro going "my love, take your time, I'll see you on the other side" to Akira before closing up the wall. I saw a post of that circulating around tumblr and now I'm rolling on the floor crying.


	6. Chapter 6

The trip to Yongen-Jaya was shorter than Goro expected. Apparently a train system still exists in this cognitive world. Leblanc was the most obvious answer as to where Akira could be, since... well, he _lives_ there.

The sun was shining bright in they sky, the current temperature not too hot, but not too cold either. A pleasant breeze would blow every now and then, ruffling the leaves in the trees. All the plants and flowers looked well cared for.

It was a bit too bright and colorful. Too perfect. It was like walking in a dream, where you didn't have a care in the world and you could very easily believe that you could stay like that forever. Except this wasn't a dream, and that unnerved Goro very, _very_ much. 

It suddenly occurred to Goro that it would be impossible to free Akira from his palace by stealing his heart. The only way to do it at this point is to convince Akira himself. 

He finally got to the alleyway that led to Leblanc's entrance, but nothing prepared him for what he saw through the window. 

Akira was there, but this Akira looked _much_ happier than he did for the past month or so. He was laughing, a tint of pink on his cheeks, and in front of him was a much happier looking Goro Akechi, laughing along with him. 

The scene made Goro's blood boil. 

He yanked the door open with as much force as he can manage. Both Akira and the cognition of simply stared in shock. 

"G—Goro?" Akira gasped.

"Don't call me that." Goro realized that might as well have been the first time he heard Akira say his given name out loud. He didn't think any deeper into it. "This idiocy ends _now_."

* * *

"Oracle! Any luck?" 

Meanwhile, The rest of the Phantom Thieves were eagerly watching their computer genius work on the lock. With Oracle's help, they were able to find the place Crow was talking about. Unfortunately, once they arrived they found the door to be locked. 

"I've already told you." The Futaba in the uniform said. "That door ain't opening without the tickets and the password. Even if I told you what it was, you don't have the tickets so it's sort of pointless."

"If Crow said he was already in there, that means he got the tickets first." Noir said. 

"It so weird to have my voice come from someone that looks and acts like me but isn't _me_." Oracle frowned. "

Cognitive Futaba pouted. "Think of it as customizing and naming your character to look exactly like an NPC! Technically, that's what I am if you were a game protagonist."

"Hmm. Akira's cognition of me is accurate, but this is still weird." Oracle said. "Anyway, I'll try hacking the door again, if it still doesn't open, I guess we could go with trying to attack it until it breaks or something."

"Goodluck with that." Cognitive Futaba said. "Like I said, you can't get past the door without the tickets and password."

"Seriously?" Skull whined. "How come Crow was able to get in and not us?"

"This place is all in Akira's head, so dunno with him." Cognitive Futaba shrugged.

"Crow is _literally_ the reason why this place exists." Oracle rolled her eyes. "It's pretty self-explanatory."

A tinkling of chains suddenly had them at full alert. 

Mona gulped. "Oh crap... That's not good."

* * *

"Goro, but, you're—" Akira stuttered. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't." Goro chided and pulled out his gun. "Step aside, Akira."

Instead of stepping aside, he instead blocked the cognition from Goro's aim. "I'm not letting you hurt him!" 

Goro scoffed. "That thing isn't the real me you idiot! Unless you want your brains blown out I suggest you move out of the way."

The cognition looked scared. "Akira, what is this?" 

Akira whispered something to him, and the cognition bolted and headed upstairs. But before he could do so, Goro took aim, and—

_"NO!"_

He missed by a mile as Akira knocked Goro to the floor. In doing so, he dropped the gun, and Akira swiftly picked it up, pointing it at Goro. 

"I don't know who or what the hell you are, but stay the fuck away from Goro!" 

_He's more brainwashed than a cult member._ Goro thought. _Even Yoshizawa-san's situation wasn't this bad._

"This needs to stop now." Goro repeated. "That thing that ran upstairs? That isn't me. I don't have a clue as to what exactly Maruki did to you, but you need to wake up, Akira."

"Wake up?" He asked in disbelief. "What...?" 

Goro took advantage of Akira's confusion to grab the gun again. He kicked Akira in the knees hard, and left him groaning in pain on the floor before running upstairs. 

He could hear Akira screaming at him, but more on that later. If Akira didn't believe that he was the real Goro, the most logical thing to do is kill the fake. 

With nowhere else to run, Goro shot the cognition in the head and stomach to make sure it died right then and there.

Akira had made it to the top of the staircase a second too late. He simply stared in horror as the cognition dissolved into smoke.

"No... Goro..."

Akira clenched his fists. His Metaverse outfit materialized. 

_"Yoshitsune... Hassou Tobi!"_

Goro was suddenly struck to the ground, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the entire attic tremble and warp. When Goro got up again, Leblanc was gone. Or rather, parts of it were. It was a bizzare sight, seeing the windows and furniture float in midair and the view of the entire city. Apparently, killing the cognition made this place unstable.

"Akira!" He shouted. "Snap out of it!" 

Akira didn't seem to hear him. "Horus, Kouagon!"

He barely dodged. He can't keep fighting Akira, not in this state. So Goro did the one thing he hated doing.

He ran away. 

The problem was, Akira was fast, and began chasing after him. It wouldn't take long for him to catch up. 

"Oracle!" Goro yelled. "Oracle! Are you there?" 

Static simply crackled in his ear. Seconds passed. Goro was starting to panic, then—

"Crow! We managed to get in the city! But it's really acting weird! Mona can't get us anywhere in this state!" 

"Akira's gone insane! I can't snap him out of it!"

"I've got your locations! Hold on, we'll-" 

Goro didn't hear the end of what she was saying as Akira caught up to him and fired yet another Kouagon at him. 

"Akira!" Goro ripped off his mask. "It's me you idiot!" 

Akira's eyes seemed to refocus. "... Goro?" 

"I _said_ , don't call me that!" He shouted back at him. 

"It... It's really you..." Akira mutters. 

"There they are!" 

The rest of the Phantom Thieves were there, waving while running towards them. 

Then suddenly, they disappeared. Goro found himself back in Leblanc, sitting on Akira's bed, fully healed.

"What happened?" Goro asked in panic. "What did you do?!" 

"I can't believe you came back..." Akira said. "It's really you right? Not a cognition?" 

Akira reached out to touch him. Goro slapped him hard in the face. "You. Fucking. Moron. You lied to me! I thought you actually respected our agreement, but here we are, in a palace supposedly created because a _certain piece of attic trash_ decided to betray me last minute!" 

Akira rubbed his cheek. "Goro, let me explain—" 

"Don't give me that." Goro said. "Whatever you say won't change the fact that you are being a selfish, little—" 

"No!" Akira shouted. "Didn't you understand anything Goro? You've gone through my palace, didn't you? You've seen my memories. You've seen all the bad things that have happened to us in the past. People have _died_ Goro. People got hurt for no good reason. This... this fixes everything."

"You're the one who agreed with me that pain and suffering is necessary in life." Goro glared at him. "That's what you've told your friends, isn't it? You're backtracking on that now?" 

"That's because I didn't know what I was gonna lose! Goro, please." He begged. "You can be happy for once. _We_ can be happy for once."

Goro simply laughed. It was a pathetic rebuttal. "I've already told you, I want nothing to do with this! Do you honestly think you're the exception to everything, Joker? Did the rest of the Phantom Thieves not have something to give up? What makes your reason any different?" 

"Because I didn't know someone was going to die again because of that! You don't know what I've been through!" Akira yelled at him. "I can't let you die again because of me!" 

"And you're willing to give everything up because of that? Pathetic!" Goro shook his head. "This has been a waste of time."

"Goro—"

"Forget this. Since you won't listen to reason, I'll find a way to get out myself." Goro shook his head in defeat and disappointment. "You're... You're not the Akira Kurusu I've come to know. Not the _Joker_ that was once the leader of the Phantom Thieves. All you are is an empty husk of him." 

Goro headed for the staircase, except, the staircase wasn't there. Not anymore. The windows had disappeared too. 

"Akira." He said sternly. "Let me the fuck out." 

No response. Goro looked back at Akira. His eyes were no longer the gunmetal gray he was used to. Instead, they glowed crimson. 

_"I'm sorry."_

That was the last thing Goro heard before his head hurt and his vision faded. 

* * *

_Where... Where is he? It's pitch black everywhere. He can't see a thing._

_He can hear voices, but he doesn't know where they are coming from._

_He sees a light floating in the distance. He walks towards it._

_As he gets closer, the light begins to take the form of something. A card._

_Closer still._

_There's something written on it. One side black, the other, white._

_Le Mat, and La Justice._

_What does it mean? He isn't sure. He has a feeling it's important, however. The card itself looks familiar, as if he's seen it before._

_A certain raven-haired boy comes to mind, who was a quiet student by day, a mischievous thief at night._

_Somehow, that person had shown him peace and happiness in a world of nothing but revenge and hatred. He thinks of quiet moments in a café that he dared to call home. The boy in question would prepare his coffee, and perhaps humor him with conversations he never got bored of._

_Thesis and antithesis._

_Two sides of the same coin._

* * *

... Akira?" Goro asked once he opened his eyes. "What happened?" 

"You passed out for a bit." Akira said. 

"Oh." he said. "I feel fine now, though."

_This isn't right._

Akira gave him a soft smile. "Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" 

_Can you live knowing what you've done to him?_

"I dunno," He shrugged. "You decide."

Goro looked him in the eye. It gave Akira a feeling of uneasiness. The cognition of Goro back then had a soft, warm gaze, something he doubted would have come from the real Goro, but this?

This Goro looked dead inside. 

They said eyes were the window to the soul. And what Akira saw in those eyes was the soul of a man begging to be free, but had been chained down for eternity. 

He was the reason Goro was still trapped here. 

"Akira? Are you alright?" 

_What has he done?_

_This was wrong. So wrong._

_He wanted to vomit._

Who was he kidding? This won't be real. It never will. Running away from your problems, pretending they don't exist, hiding from the truth... It goes against everything the Phantom Thieves have fought for. 

_"You're not the Akira Kurusu I've come to know. Not the Joker that was once the leader of the Phantom Thieves. All you are is an empty husk of him."_

Pain brought them all together, didn't it? All his bonds are superficial without it. 

He remembers all his friends. He remembers that the bonds with his confidants run deep. 

He realizes how he's throwing that all away, agreeing to this. 

**_Have you finally come to your senses?_ **

_He needs to fix this._

The world around him warped to a more normal state. 

**_You are a slave, want emancipation?_ **

His head throbbed in pain. He vaguely notices his surroundings starting to crumble. 

**_I see. Your resolve has strengthened once again. The rebellious spirit within you reawakened. You may have strayed from the truth, but your heart desires to set things right. I am thou, and thou art I, you've awakened my true form. Very well, walk your chosen path without fear of mistake!_ **

"This place is falling apart!" Goro said. "Akira!" 

Akira ripped the mask off his face. _"Raoul!"_

The persona unfurled it's wings, and scooped the two of them out of Leblanc and into the air. 

Akira looked around. He eventually spotted the Phantom Thieves on the ground, apparently looking for them.

"Joker!" They said in unison as the persona gently placed them on the ground before disappearing.

"Glad to have you back, leader!" 

"Joker-senpai! You're okay!" 

"I hate to interrupt this merry little reunion, but the palace is falling apart!" Goro reminded them. 

"Right." Akira said, trying to stand. His legs wobbled.

"Whoa, dude, are you okay?" Skull asked.

"... Tired."

That's all he said before falling unconscious.

* * *

Goro watched as the Phantom Thieves were trying to explain to an extremely confused Sojiro Sakura why Akira was currently passed out in his room, and why they were all gone the entire day. Frankly, it was an amusing sight. The heist took up the entire day, and the sun was setting when they all got back to Leblanc.

In the end, they've done it. They brought Akira back to his senses. By this time tomorrow, they would all be free.

And yet...

He couldn't get that one image out of his head. 

He'd ignored it until now, but with nothing else to think about, the memory of Maruki's carefully crafted illusion came back to him. It was once of the few times Goro was truly, genuinely scared. When someone knows your weaknesses better than you do. It reminded him horribly of Shido, who exploited his stupid need for affection and validation.

Maruki was no different. Maruki was just as evil as the rest of them. He didn't know Goro. No happiness would come to him from erasing his past. All his claims of knowing their deepest desires? Utter bullshit.

_—he would pull away the blankets to find Akira's sleeping form beside him. It was already 9AM. Akira Kurusu was not an early riser, by all means. He watched him stir slightly, cheeks glowing in the light of the morning sun—_

_No._ He refused to think about it any further. 

He could feel his nails digging into his palms. 

"Hey, Akechi?"

Morgana hopped onto the couch. After coming back from the Metaverse, he seemed to regain his original form as a cat. 

"I think you should stay with Akira tonight."

Goro quirked an eyebrow. "And why is that?" 

"You saw what happened. His palace was created..." He trailed off. "because of you. I think it's best if you keep him company for now. I'll just stay over at Futaba's again."

"And what makes you think I'd do that?" 

"Because you care about him." The cat said with a knowing look. "You and Akira have quite a complicated relationship. It's too late to deny that now. You've gone all this way to help him. That has to count for something. And besides, he's gonna request for you to stay too."

Goro had nothing to say to that. 

"Hey guys, he's awake!" 

The entire group practically dog piled on Akira once he came downstairs. 

"I'm— I'm really sorry." He said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I've been a horrible leader lately. I made things a lot harder for you guys..."

"Bro... We've all been there." Ryuji said. "There's no need to apologize. You've helped us, didn't you? It's about time we repay the favor."

They all got their chance to talk and comfort him. Goro just stood by and watched.

_Akira has such wonderful friends... he's really lucky. It's no wonder his raw power in the Metaverse far exceeds his. With the power of the Wild Card... He could really do anything..._

Goro was jealous. When had he not been jealous of Akira?

"Hey." Akira tapped his shoulder. They were the only ones left in the café. Apparently, Goro had been so deep in thought that he didn't notice any of them leave.

Goro cleared his throat. "I'm assuming you're going to ask me to stay?" 

Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "It depends, are you gonna stay?"

"I have a few questions for you." He said. 

"Ask away. I have the whole night." Akira stood up. "Before that, want coffee?" 

"I'll have to pass for now. We still need to infiltrate Maruki's palace tomorrow after all."

"Right. Let's take this chat upstairs."

Goro followed him up. The walls didn't shake this time. 

There was a certain tension in the air as they sat on opposite ends of Akira's bed. 

"First of all, what the hell Akira?" Goro said. "You broke your promise."

"That should mean a lot, coming from you."

"Don't play smartass with me." Goro narrowed his eyes. "I'm well aware that I'm apparently the main reason why your palace existed in the first place."

"It technically wasn't a palace." Akira said. "At least, it wasn't originally born from negative emotions. It was more like a sort of headspace where I can escape from reality, if only for a little bit. You were there, actually. As we're the other cognitive copies of the Phantom Thieves. Most of the time, we'd sit down and play tycoon with each other. I won most of the rounds, but you also played a good game."

"That's doesn't answer the question."

"You didn't exactly ask a question."

Goro inhaled deeply. "My question _is_ , Akira, why me? You were so determined, so _eager_ to defeat Maruki, but your resolve crumbled once he used my life as a bargaining chip."

"I didn't want you to die—"

"I was already dead! There's no changing that!" Goro snapped. "That's why I want to set things to the way they're supposed to be! I was supposed to die, and yet here I am, because somebody wished for a reality with me alive. What I want to know is why the _hell_ you would waste your time and energy on a dead man. You can't save everyone."

"For a detective, you're impossibly dense." Akira let out a pained laugh. "I'm pretty sure my palace gave out a lot of hints. Even Maruki noticed it. It's literally the offer he gave me, and you already saw the conversation in my palace."

Goro narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You can't possibly care that much."

"Why is it so hard to comprehend?" Akira asked.

"Because! I'm not worthy of something like that!" Goro yelled at him. "It's because of of brainless sentimentality like this that ruins things! I'm a fucking _murderer_ , Akira, I've-" 

"I don't care."

"...what?"

"I _said_." Akira's voice took on the tone of Joker. "I don't care. We've all made mistakes. Murder is an unforgivable crime, but Shido pushed you into doing so. You were Futaba's age when you killed Wakaba, weren't you? That on its own was fucked up, wasn't it? It's not entirely your fault."

"That doesn't change the fact that I've killed, now, does it?" Goro said.

"No, but does you dying make it any better? Would any more death fix anything?" Akira countered. "Look, Go—Akechi. You're better than you think you are. You've helped us out a lot even though you were supposed to eliminate us. And... you're a good friend."

"Friend?" Goro scoffed. "Are the Phantom Thieves just stage actors then?"

"You understood things more than some of the other thieves did. Sure, they feel like family to me at this point, but you're a different case." Akira said. "I could actually be myself. The others started hanging out with me because they asked me for a favor. You talked to me simply because you wanted to."

That grabbed Goro's attention, because he had thought the same about Akira when he first met him.

"I was really happy, you know? When you came back on Christmas." Akira stared at the floor. "I really thought that everything was going to be okay, that maybe this was the universe's way of thanking me for saving everyone. But when Maruki told us otherwise... I was mad. The world decided to screw with me again. I'd already been sent away from home because of a crime I didn't want commit, I had already been beaten up by the police, I've already been deceived by Yaldabaoth, and still, bad things kept on happening. The thought of losing you on top of all that just... broke me. I acted without thinking. Something a good leader wouldn't do."

Goro felt pity for him. It was something he never imagined he'd feel for Joker, of all people. He knew, all too well, to feel like the world was against you all the time.

"Well, like you said. We all make mistakes." Goro said. 

"Yeah, but that's what forgiveness is for. Rehabilitation. Atonement. That's why the Phantom Thieves do what they do. We never wanted anyone to die. We just wanted justice for their wrong actions. You dying was as far from justice as possible. That's why... I wanted you to stay longer."

"That sounds like a truly noble reason." Goro rolled his eyes.

"Nah. There was a lot of selfishness involved too."

At some point during the conversation, Akira had gone from the edge of the bed to right beside him.

"... I can call you Goro, right?" He asked. "You call me by my first name."

"You've already said it more than once in the palace." Goro said. "It doesn't really matter at this point."

"Goro it is then."

Akira had gotten even closer, his face only inches from his own. Akira smelled like Leblanc's coffee. A scent Goro didn't mind, and rather enjoyed. Akira's eyes appeared black, but up close Goro saw their true color: a cool gray, framed with long eyelashes that a model would be jealous of. The fake glasses did little to hide the intense gaze.

Akira gave a small smile. "You're staring."

Goro broke eye contact. "You're delusional."

Akira laughed. "And yet you still hang out with me."

"I guess I do." He didn't exactly have a response. 

"Things will go back to normal by tomorrow, right?" Akira said after a moment of silence.

Goro frowned. "If you're going to ask me about the boiler room, I've already told you. I don't know what happened between that time and waking here in Maruki's reality. As much as I hate to admit it, I have no solid answer to my ultimate fate. However, I doubt that I'm still alive, after all that."

"You always assume the negative things." Akira said. "That's as bad as being too optimistic."

"Which is exactly what you are, Akira. You can't go waste your life waiting for a dead man." Goro said. "It's best if you forget about me."

"Can I make a request then?" 

"...huh?"

"One last request." He said. "If we're going to say this is a goodbye, I want to do something first." 

Goro raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And what might that be?"

Akira's fingers lightly caressed his cheek, and pulled Goro in for a kiss.

A million things raced through Goro's head in the moment, but all he could focus on was how soft Akira's lips were. His head spun with emotion. 

Akira pulled away. "...I'm being honest, you know? You're my ultimate wish in this reality. I... I just wanted you to be happy. I wanted to be the one to make you happy."

_He has to be lying. He needs to be lying._

And yet all Goro saw in Akira's expression was honesty. Vulnerability. 

He hated that it was making him vulnerable too. 

_You don't deserve happiness, not after what you've done._

_Would they really care about a murderer?_

_Even your own parents didn't want you._

_There's no place in the world for trash like you._

_You're a fool for thinking you could ever be loved._

"Goro? Hey..." Akira wiped away something on his cheek. He realized they were tears. 

Goro shoved him away. "Stop it! I don't want your pity!" 

"Goro—"

"No! It's this kind of sentimentality that makes you weak! I can't... No... I _don't_ want this..." Goro choked out. Speaking made it worse. "I don't deserve forgiveness. I don't deserve anything you're giving me. There's no place for someone like me in this world. I'm... I'm better off..." 

He was cut off by Akira hugging him. 

Goro sobbed into his chest. He was stupidly weak. He wanted the tears to stop, but they just kept flowing as Akira was rubbing his back soothingly. 

"It's okay Goro." He said. "Take all the time you need."

Akira shifted them slightly, so that they were both leaning comfortably on a stack of pillows. He reached over a bit to grab a tissue box and place it beside them. All while holding him close. 

_"Once I gain full control of Mementos, I can make everyone's wishes come true." Maruki had said. "No more pain, no more suffering, no more unwanted hardships. Everyone can finally be happy. Isn't that a wonderful reality? And it's all within my grasp. All you have to do is accept it."_

Goro felt comfortable here in Akira's arms. He felt safe. 

But most importantly of all, he felt loved. 

It was all he wanted. It was all he wanted and he _hated_ it, because in the end, Maruki was _right_.

"Akira... please..." He mumbled into his shirt. "Don't make it harder for us. It's just going to hurt more."

_He hated how weak he sounded._

"This is better than having nothing at all, isn't it? It's already too late anyway. Might as well sleep here."

Goro looked up. The clock on the wall read 11:49 PM. 

"We've been talking for that long?" Goro asked. 

"Time passes quickly when you're with the one you like, doesn't it?" Akira said with a small smile. "C'mon, let's freshen up. I've got a few clothes you can borrow in the meantime."

* * *

It was 1 in the morning. Akira was still awake.

He looked down at the body sleeping on top of him. He'd already suspected that Goro was touch-starved to a certain degree, but judging from his reactions to cuddling in bed together, it was worse than he expected. 

He didn't even know what they were anymore? Teammates? Rivals? Friends? Lovers?

None of those labels described the complex relationship between him and Goro Akechi. 

He'd wanted this. Wanted it for a long time now. But it was a bittersweet victory compared to what they'll have to do in the morning.

Akira wondered what his life would be like if Personas never existed, if the Metaverse didn't exist. He could have spared himself a whole lot of trouble, but would he still have met Goro? All his other friends? 

He ran his fingers through Goro's hair, gently untangling the few knots he found. Goro's hair was less fluffy and more silky than his own, but soft all the same.

He felt Goro nuzzle into his hand, still asleep. Akira smiled softly. The detective was cute without even trying. 

_"If only we had met sooner." Goro had said. "Things would be different."_

They would be very different indeed. Goro would have probably joined the Phantom Thieves at an earlier date, maybe even abandon his need for revenge before his situation spiraled out of control. But Akira knew that despite how things were, they still managed to become close. And in the end, Goro was a big help in getting him out of his own palace.

Akira was never really a firm believer in fate, but he believed he and Goro Akechi were destined to meet from the start. 

"I'm really glad to have met you, Goro." He whispered, despite knowing the detective was fast asleep and couldn't hear him. 

_"Thank you for waking me up."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally written this out p h e w.   
> The next chapter is gonna be the last one!


	7. Chapter 7

This was it. The Day of Fates. 

They set off for Maruki's palace the following evening. Akira was... quiet, to say the least. He hadn't brought up anything that had happened between them last night. Inwardly, Goro was grateful none of the others had asked any questions. 

The elevator reached the top, and they were greeted once again by the massive garden, possibly modeled after the biblical Garden of Eden, complete with a giant tree bearing fruit. In any other context, it would have been a beautiful place. Goro was not religious in any way whatsoever, however he did have at least some knowledge about the story of Adam and Eve. It was almost funny, how Maruki welcomed them all to his paradise, when the two people he wanted to convince the most had already bitten into the forbidden fruit of knowledge. 

"Ah... I see you've made it. There really is no convincing you, huh?" A voice rang in the air. "Come up, and meet me at the center of paradise."

Goro glanced over in Akira's direction. But all he saw in those gray eyes was fiery determination. Goro let himself smile a bit.

_That's the Joker I've come to know._

They made their way up a particularly long staircase, where the councilor was waiting. 

"It's seems that I have your answer." Maruki said. 

Joker took a defensive stance. "It's time to finish this."

"Indeed... No more hesitation. If you win, my heart will be changed. However, if I win, my reality becomes the true reality. I will overwrite all of existence with my cognition. I won't hold back anymore!" 

The ground began to shake. "Just as you have your own beliefs, I too, have no intention of changing my plans for reality. No matter what happens to me in the end, I will fix this torturous world! That... Is my own rebellion!" 

Maruki's clothes transformed into a different outfit, not unlike their own Metaverse attire. 

"Whoa, he totally looks like that one stand from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure!" Oracle said. 

"I believe you called forth your power like this." He snapped his fingers. 

_"Persona."_

A cross-shaped figure tangled in black tentacles manifested behind him as the Phantom Thieves prepared themselves for their last battle. 

"The tentacles keep changing weaknesses!" Oracle said. "I'll scan them as quickly as I can. Don't attack blindly!" 

Maruki attacked mainly with Bless, Physical, and Nuclear attacks, so Joker had decided to keep him out of the fight due to his elemental weakness. Needless to say, Goro wasn't happy. He wanted to be the one to destroy Maruki, or at least contribute to wearing him down. 

After a few turns, Violet was knocked down, and Goro had to switch in for her. Fucking finally. 

_He's gonna pay for all that shit he pulled off._

"Akechi-kun! Don't throw away your life!" Maruki protested. "If you're with Kurusu-kun and his friends, you could begin to atone what you've done!"

_"Crow, look out!"_

"Enough with your high and mighty bullshit!" Goro said as he dodged the attack and countered with a Megidolaon. "You're pissing me off!" 

The attack collided with Maruki, who staggered back from the impact. "I won't fail... I can't fail! Do you remember how every one of your dreams was granted in my reality? Not a single person is in pain here...Why would you deny them that opportunity?"

"It's no different from living a lie!" Joker said. "We'll be the ones to fight for our own happiness!" 

Finally, they had drained him, and the Persona fell to the ground, flickering in and out of existence. 

_"Azathoth... Did I fail?"_

The treasure appeared before them. 

"What is it though?" Noir asked. "A torch?" 

"A torch is a light to guide people." Goro explained. "It may symbolize his perception of himself to be the guide to the entire world. We're here to change his heart, aren't we? Go on, take it."

Joker grabbed the floating object, and as soon as he did, the entire place began to collapse. 

"C'mon guys, get in!" Mona transformed into a car. 

Queen drove them away as fast as she can, but the suddenly ran out of track to drive on. Everyone screamed as they made a rough landing on the ground below. 

"Dr. Maruki..." Violet muttered as they all looked upon the collapsed palace. 

"This has gone too far past changing a heart." Panther shook her head quietly. "Is he even still alive?" 

Somewhere within him, Goro sure wished he didn't. However, he saw something move from the corner of his eye. 

"Looks like that isn't a concern."

_He just won't back down._

Maruki raised his hand, and the torch flew towards him. He raised the torch high above his head and behind him, his persona revived. Tentacles bursted out from the cross, which slowly started to take a humanoid shape. 

"No..." Oracle said. "It can't be..." 

"Maruki's done it." Mona said. "He evolved his persona!" 

"Such strength of will..." Fox said in disbelief. 

"If it's for everyone's happiness, I don't care what happens to me!" Maruki said with renewed vigor. A resolve strong enough to evolve a persona on the spot... It eerily reminded Goro of Akira in a way. Simply continuing to fight on sheer willpower. 

"I refuse to let it end like this!" Maruki said with determination. "Adam Kadmon, guide us all to our true reality!" 

The persona roared, and the Phantom Thieves steeled themselves for another attack. Despite evolving his persona, Maruki went down again after a few precision attacks. The doctor was admittedly not good at dodging whatsoever. 

"I still... can't do it?" Maruki was hunched over in pain. "And my reality is right before my eyes... I said I didn't care what happened to me, but I guess I wasn't committed to my words."

His persona reached a hand out to him. Maruki shakes his head sadly. "You too huh?" 

_Is he still not giving up?_ Goro thought. _The tenacity..._

"Crow-senpai, what are you—" 

Goro raised his gun to shoot. "Can't you tell?" 

He pulled the trigger a couple of times. All the bullets were blocked by the tentacles surrounding Maruki's persona. 

Maruki steps onto his persona's open hand, all while talking to it. 

_Fine, I'll do it myself.  
_

"You can't!" Violet said to him. 

"We hesitate right now—we die!" Goro snapped back at her. 

"Up there!" Mona pointed. 

The team looked up to see Maruki being absorbed by his own persona. Once that had happened, the persona's eyes shone red, and it roared to life with a blast of newfound energy. 

**_"I am thou, and thou art I."_ **

Adam Kadmon punched the ground, and the impact sent a shockwave that easily drained more than half their health. 

"Oh no!" Oracle said from inside her persona. "Hold on, I'll scan for weaknesses. Try different attacks!" 

They attacked as they did before, however, this time, they all barely left a scratch. 

"What? Nothing works?" Oracle said in shock. "I'll think of something, just hang in there!" 

The persona simply repeated its attacks. Even with Queen casting Mediarahan after each blow, they wouldn't be able to keep up at this rate. 

"I found his weakness!" Oracle announced. "Joker! Next time he attacks, that's your chance!" 

**_"Let's end this, once and for all!"_ **

Adam Kadmon charged up. 

"His head is his weak spot, but our attacks are ineffective in his normal state." Frantic beeping came from Oracle's persona. "But whenever he attacks, he drops his guard while concentrating his power! If we target his head while he strikes, we might have a shot!" 

They all looked at Joker, as he nodded in agreement. Maruki's punch came crashing down. They all braced themselves, then—

_**"What?"** _

When Goro opened his eyes, his mask was gone, as well as the masks of the other thieves. Their power combined managed to block the punch. 

The Phantom Thieves all boasted to Maruki on how they wouldn't give up and how he had underestimated their "power of friendship". On the other hand, Goro was less than amused. 

"I'm a little occupied here," He groaned under the weight of withstanding the attack. "So do your goddamn JOB!" 

Joker took his chance and ran up the arm as fast as he could. Amidst the flying debris, Goro could see Joker making his way to the top, and aiming at his target. He saw Joker smirk before shooting. 

**"Checkmate."**

Despite everything, Goro managed to smile. 

* * *

It all happened too fast. Maruki's persona evolving last minute, shooting said persona in the head, Mona turning into a helicopter, and then the final fist fight between Maruki and himself as the world around them fell apart. 

The next thing he knew, he was back in the Velvet Room, the soothing music filling the air. To his surprise, he was wearing his Shujin uniform. 

Igor chuckled. "Magnificent."

"Not only have you taken mankind's future back for itself, but you have also re-established our reason for existence." Lavenza said as Akira approached the two of them. "While reality had wholly been distorted, your actions have guided it back toward what it ought to be."

"What it ought to be?" He asked.

Lavenza nodded. "Time itself cannot be rewound, but every past event will revert to what should have happened instead."

_Revert to what should have happened..._

"...What happens to Akechi?" Akira asked, despite already knowing what she would say. 

Lavenza gave him a pitying look. "Everything will return to how it should be. There are no exceptions."

It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped on him. He knew what was coming, but still... 

"Have your regrets begun?" 

Akira said nothing. Lavenza seems to understand his silence. "Choosing such a path must not have been easy. For that, you have our utmost respect and gratitude, Akira Kurusu."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't believe I've gone from exposing a pervy teacher to shooting gods in the head. I wonder how often that happens."

Igor chuckled again. "Fret not trickster, you aren't alone in regards to facing off against supernatural beings. There have been other Wildcards before you, as well as another group of persona users who can freely switch between different personas. However, their power predates that of the Wildcard and might as well be a different thing entirely. Humanity is no stranger to events such as these, which is why persona users exist: to defeat these false deities."

"You are, however, the first to save my Master." Lavenza said. "That is something only you have accomplished."

Akira shrugged. "I guess so."

He thought back to the events on Christmas Eve. By this time, it would have been a month since he entered juvie.

_Reality is truly harsh._

"You've escaped the prison of the heart, only to be imprisoned in reality." Lavenza said, as if she knew what he was thinking. "What a most ironic outcome, your wish for others' happiness prevailed over your own."

Akira shook his head. "I feel like that's sugarcoating it a little."

"You are but human. You should not be ashamed for acting out in anger and despair. What matters is that you've acknowledged your mistake and resolved the problem accordingly." She said. "However, I feel as though all is finally well. In the end, you willingly chose the correct path."

A light floated over in his direction, transforming into a tarot card in his hands. 

"The final arcana you have acquired is The World. It is the power of an individual to stand on their own two feet, swayed by none. It is the final step in the journey of the Fool. That power shall fuel the hope shared among your friends and yourself, to strive for a better future. With "The World", you are not without a place to belong, and will never trudge a path alone again."

_Never alone huh? And yet..._

No. He had other things to worry about once he wakes up. 

"My own duties end here as well." Igor stated. "You were truly a remarkable guest."

* * *

It's been a month since all his friends got him out of jail. 

He was honestly mildly surprised all of them were able to clear his name. Especially with his friends outside the Phantom Thieves. He was nothing short of grateful for it. He was happy here. He wanted to stay in Tokyo for a little longer, but his probation was lifted, and his record cleaned. His parents were waiting for him to return home. They weren't the best parents out there, but he had a life to return to. Once his parents heard that he didn't actually commit a crime, they had already arranged for him to enroll at the school back home.

Speaking of which, he still had to go and say his proper goodbyes to everyone.

He visited all of them one by one, where they each gave him one final gift as a memento. He also took the time to stroll around and observe the world around him. Life had gone back to normal. The hunt for the Phantom Thieves was still ongoing, and he had to keep a low profile. Every now and then, he searched the crowd, silently hoping to maybe find that familiar mop of brown hair somewhere in the crowd. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. What he found disturbing, however, was the lack of anything related to said brunette on the media or anywhere else. Besides Sae offhandedly mentioning that the person in question was reported missing, there was barely any news or gossip regarding Goro Akechi's sudden disappearance, which was really strange considering how popular he was as the Detective Prince. 

_As if he never existed. No one misses him._

The grip on his own jacket tightened. Was this really how it ended? Goro being erased from cognition entirely? 

The mere thought was almost too much for Akira to bear. 

He found himself standing in front of the jazz club he and Goro used to frequent. It wouldn't hurt to check... 

"Oh, I'm sorry, we're closed today." The club manager said. "Wait, you're friends with Akechi-kun, right?" 

_Was he a friend?_ Akira found himself wondering. 

"I... don't know." Was all he managed to say.

"Huh? But I remember when the two of you came here last. It was rare to see him with another person. Speaking of which, I haven't seen him in a while." The manager said thoughtfully. "Do me a favor. Next time you see him, tell him to come by again."

_But Akechi... He's already..._

Akira vaguely realized there was still something in his pocket. It was the glove Goro had given him. He did promise a rematch after all. 

_"You better take care of that glove." Goro had told him. "I'm not going to give you another one."_

_His fight with Akechi was far from over._

"Well, I won't insist." The manager continued. "But you and Akechi-kun can swing around anytime."

Grasping the glove tightly, Akira smiled. "I'll let him know."

* * *

Tomorrow came, and it was truly time to go home. The others were already waiting in the van for him. 

"Hey, Akira!" Ann called out to him. "Over here!" 

But as he was about to get in, they all spotted something in the rear-view mirror. There was a government car parked there, most likely going after them. 

"Crap." Futaba said. "What do we do now?" 

"Need a hand?" 

They all turned around to see a taxi, and a certain bespectacled brunette in the driver's seat. 

"Dr. Maruki?" Ryuji said in shock. The back door of the taxi opened up, and Maruki motioned for Akira to get in. 

"You're suggesting we split up?" Makoto asked. 

"Should we?" Futaba looked at everyone else for confirmation. Ryuji then gave a thumbs up to both of them. Akira took a seat inside while the rest of the Phantom Thieves drove in the opposite direction, the police taking the bait and chasing after them. 

"Shall we then?" Maruki asked. Akira nodded. 

Maruki quietly drove them to the train station. Akira pulled out his wallet, but Maruki stopped him. 

"There's no charge." He shook his head. "If you find yourself struggling in life, you can just start over, like me. Remember that. And if that ends up saving you, then we're square. Good luck, Kurusu-kun."

The taxi drove away. The screeching of tires got louder as the van halted in front of him.

"Damn, those dudes just won't give up!" Ryuji said as the windows rolled down.

"I wish it went smoother, but I guess this is it." Futaba said.

"Be sure to eat well."

"We'll see you soon, right?" 

"If you don't come back, we'll find you there!" 

"This is it." Makoto said. "We need to go."

"Aww, already?" Ryuji whined. 

"We don't make the train schedule." Makoto responded.

"See ya later, my dude!" Ryuji yelled as they drove away.

Futaba's head poked out from the roof. "I'll text you, okay!" 

Akira watched as the police continued to chase them, before turning and heading to his train. Suddenly, something in his bag started wriggling around, but as he was about to unzip it, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ah— Senpai!"

"Sumire?" 

She nodded. "You taught me to keep my head up, didn't you?" 

Morgana's head popped out from the bag. "Told'ja I was coming with you—oh! Sumire!"

She pet his head. "Nice to see you too, Mona. Well, take care! Have a safe trip home!"

Having said goodbye, she walked away. Morgana gestured towards the train, reminding Akira that he's going to be late.

He took a seat next to the window, and put his bag down next to him. Morgana stretched and made himself comfortable. 

"So, Inaba, huh?" Morgana asked. "I wonder what your parents will be like."

Akira turned to face the window. "They'll probably tolerate me having a cat around. Don't wander around too much though. Mom might throw you out if she gets pissed."

"Huh?!" Morgana said in shock. "But you'll save me, right Akira?"

"Hmm... Maybe."

"Hey!" Morgana pouted. "Anyway, I'm gonna nap. Wake me when we're there."

Soon enough, silent snoring came from the bag. 

Akira gazed out the window. The sun was bright and the sky was clear. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that the past year was nothing more than a dream.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed with a notification. Futaba was already asking how he was doing, and that they all missed him. 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw, for the briefest moment, the sleeve of an extremely familiar beige uniform.

He quickly turned his head and looked outside. No one was there, and no sign of anyone being there to begin with. Whatever he saw, it was gone as quickly as it came. 

It would have been so easy to convince himself that he was just imagining things. It was simply easier to think that it was just a figment of his imagination. And yet... he had a feeling that there was more to it. 

Akira pulled the glove out of his pocket. 

His game with Goro had only just begun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of Desiderium! I really want to thank all the lovely people who have commented and given kudos on this fic! I have a concept for a sequel, however, school is coming up, and I probably won't be able to write since it's gonna be my first time attending online classes, so the sequel probably won't be coming anytime soon.


End file.
